Devil In Me
by Apocalyptical Angel
Summary: Lex makes a deal with Chloe for the identity of the Green Arrow. But can she go through with it when she sees beneath the mask?
1. Name?

**Devil In Me.**

**Rating:** M - Contains violence and sexual content. (Depending on your interpretation, it can be classified as non-consensual at times, I'll post a warning at the start of the chapter when we get to that part.)

**Pairing: **Chloe/Oliver (Chloe/Green Arrow) and Chloe/Lex

**Disclaimer:** I play with borrowed toys, though if I could get away with it, they'd stay in my sandbox for good. Unfortunately, the sad truth is that I own nothing but the order of words on the page. Please do not copy this to other sites.

**Summary: **Lex makes a deal with Chloe for the identity of the Green Arrow. But can she go through with it when she sees beneath the mask?

**Reference: **Goes AU close to the end of Season 3 (Episode Truth). Set in Season 7 after Canary joins the JLA team (episode Siren)

**Author Explanation: **So, for the timeline, I'd like you to imagine the end of season 3/4, then imagine it continuing, but without Chloe's presence. I know I've probably lost a few of you already, and that's fine; hit the backspace button at your own leisure. It isn't as 'far out' as you might think from doing an AU. And all will be explained as I go along. Also, I have a mild *cough* dislike for Lana, so I'm sorry to say to all you Clark/Lana fans that it won't be happening. Clark will be with Lois, the way it should be despite the fact in setting the start of this story at season 7. Lana hasn't been tricked into marriage to Lex, in fact she stayed tucked safe in her beddy-bye's touring the world with some new honey that I could make up a name for on the spot, but I won't.

For those who haven't left the page in favour of another story, I hope you enjoy the work.

Xx

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><p><span>Chapter One; Name?<span>

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><p>'<em>The road to darkness is a journey, not a light switch' -<em>Lex Luthor. (Season 2, episode Ryan.)

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><p><em>Who are you? A simple enough question, but for her it was both the hardest and easiest she could be poised with. A change of name, adjustment of clothes, flick of hair, addition of wig or contacts and she could be anything your mind could conjure. Your darkest desires, your most hated fear. She was the innocent, flirty girl next door; the straight talking executive business leader; the gum chewing, child carrying trailer trash; the street vendor with a slur; or a virginal, strict catholic, fiancé to the president. <em>

_She had more names than she cared to remember, more personalities than it was healthy and she could answer the question of who she was flawlessly without a skip of her heart in the lie. _

_But in truth, when you play so many roles, it's easy to lose yourself. _

_Who was she?_

_She was a woman of 5ft 3inches, golden blonde hair, tired blue eyes and born with the name Chloe Sullivan._

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><p>The Ace of Clubs: her cabby's answer to the best drinks in town. Her eyes rolled unconsciously at the pun in the name and she set her best foot forward trying to remain optimistic. The mobile sat in her left pocket, her thigh awaiting the vibration to tell her Alex had called her back. Until then she had nothing to do but waste time.<p>

Quickly and precise she stepped into the elevator, the kitten heels of the well-worn shoes clicked twice then stopped. Her feet were partially covered by the soft creamy brown of the trousers too long for her short legs. A simple cream blouse added to the look, hugging her chest to flatter the shape God gave. Blonde curls brushed a little past her shoulder in a cut that was easily maintained and styled. Heads would turns, but she'd be dismissed just as easily. She wasn't dressed to kill, neither was she dressed to impress, nor prey on the lustful hearts of men.

The music pounded like a caged beast against the mirrored elevator then roared free as the doors parted. Lights poured from the ceiling giving an afternoon glow to an otherwise dim atmosphere. She shuffled through un-noticed by the customers at various stages of drunkenness and settled swiftly into a vacated seat at the sheltered bar. Clearly the Ace of Clubs was a popular spot and filled with patrons. Then again, it was Friday night. If you add to the equation the proximity to Metropolis University, you could fully understand why the walls were feeling claustrophobic.

But luckily, the dance floor and tables had more attention that the second smaller bar huddled in the corner. The counter was pretty vacant in this corner, an empty seat to her left, two empty to her right, then a blonde male typing across his mobile swiftly then another empty before a gang of men crowded the others. She sat her purse on her knee and flagged down the bartender from the other end, her fake ID settled in her pocket ready to tell anyone who cared she was a business woman from California that answered to Charlotte Maine. The barman didn't ask, just sent her a wink and leant on the counter before her.

"Hey doll, what can I do for you tonight?" She found herself smiling warmly back at him, he wasn't the show off sex-god muscle man who could lift you with a finger, he wasn't the university graduate paying bills for his advanced physics course. No, he was the sweet listener that would do anything to make sure a woman was pleased, even if it meant suffering himself. He was the man most women would kill to find in a city like Metropolis. But that personality did nothing for her, not even a spark of her libido at the cheeky grin or cleanly shaven jaw line. Internally she cursed her attractive to the darker side of men, the ones that screamed danger, the ones that teased her mercilessly and yet still knew when to say enough. It was the darker side of the world she had fallen for whole heartedly, and every time she saw the cute, safe and secure man it ached inside her chest that she couldn't fall for them.

"Give me something with a kick." she replied half-heartedly and set down some bills. He chuckled at her indifference.

"Bad day at work?"

"Bad _year_ at work." She enjoyed playing different people. Today she would be Miss Maine, over-worked secretary to a large overseas company. Charlotte had just settled into town and was looking for something to relieve the huge workload awaiting her amidst the un-packing at her new home.

"Ah, I've seen it before." The barman told her with a grin. "The _'My boss is a slave driver' _symptom_._ Am I right?" His hand slipped under the bar, taking a cocktail glass and shaking up liquids for her taste bud's delight.

"Slave driver is an understatement." she replied with a practised tiredness. It wasn't too hard to fake really. She **was** tired. Tired of her life, tired of her work, tired of fleeing cities and towns illegally on the back of some criminal's boat or truck. Currently, she was jetlagged past anything a human could endure and still waiting for Alex to call before she could do anything.

"Then you'll probably need this." Her bartender offered across the drink with his sympathetic and honest smile. A flicker of joy tugged on her lips as his hand followed passing her a tiny yellow umbrella to pop into her drink. It had no need for one, but she was in no place to pass up any kindness. She sophisticatedly lifted the glass then inelegantly shot the drink back, the cherry following to her mouth. She barely tasted it, but what she did taste wasn't bad at all.

"I'll probably need you to hook me up with an IV to this." she countered, earning a chuckle. "Keep 'em coming." She twirled the umbrella between her fingers, rolling it skilfully over and under her digits as he mixed her up another. She'd barely received the next drink before the seat next to her was filled and her barman had been called to the other end.

"Hey." he started. She nodded, hoping he'd just pick up her silent 'piss off' signal and go away. Clearly she had overestimated his intelligence. "You look fuck-tastic tonight." She physically turned to him, wondering if she'd imagined such brainlessness. Nope, he was staring right at her like she was his prize for ultimate stupidity. Blinking, she turned back and effectively ignored him. "You here alone?" Why was _he_ still here? There was only one man she wanted to speak to tonight, and that was Alex… well, _two_ men if you include the barkeep.

"I'm not interested." she spoke without turning back. Her eyes lifted to further down the bar as the blonde who had been playing with his mobile drown his chuckle in his beer, his eyes on her situation. At least _he_ was having a good time.

"You really shouldn't be alone looking as gorgeous as you do." he tried again, skating past her dismissal like she had never spoke.

"I think you should sit somewhere else." she tried again, adding a little venom into the tone.

"No need to be rude. I just wanted to talk and get lost in your sweet eyes." She was losing patience and starting to stick him with a label of trouble. And not in the way she found attractive. Not to mention the bile rising in the back of her throat at his lines.

"I'm. Not. Interested." she repeated slowly.

"But I am." Chloe turned to him, looking from the lopsided careless smile to his dark eyes to his receding hair line and assessed just how much damage he could do to her. And in turn, how many furnishings she would have to break in order to be free of him. His hand clamped around her arm almost painfully as she tried to move seats and brush him off again.

"Listen here, Buster." she hissed, tugging at his solid grip. "You're going to leave me alone right now."

"Oh, com'on lady. I'm not going anywhere if it's not with you." Okay, now that fell into a serious category of problematic. Her free hand carefully placed the toy umbrella down to the counter and rested in her lap tightening into a fist.

"Look pal, she said no. I think it's best if you leave. We don't want any trouble." The barman spoke up, seeing the potentially dangerous situation.

"That's not your concern is it _Barkeep_? You just pour the drinks and she'll change her mind soon." Her fist pulled tighter, her fingernails digging welts into her palm, her knuckles showing white bone under the thin membrane of skin. "Another drink and you'll be all over me. Little light weight aren't you?" She tugged at her locked arm again, more violently this time.

"The only thing you'll get from me is my fist shoved so far-"

"Hey sweetheart." A man sat down on the other side of her, his hand slipped over hers to pull open her fist as he leant over her shoulder. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I know I said work wasn't going to keep me long, but something came up." His lips pressed soft to her cheek and her blasting anger quelled enough so she could read the situation before her. She allowed herself to relax into the man's body behind her, her fist unravelling into his fingers. "You know this guy?" he continued to ask.

"He was just leaving." she answered softly, still aware of the drastic turn that could be made in events. But her potential assailant tucked his tail between his legs and shuffled away to be caught by bouncers and thrown out. He felt her relax against him, his hand refusing to leave hers though his task was done.

"Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?" At his words she snapped back to life, remembering who she was and what she was doing. Her fingers broke free of his and she slipped back around to the counter freeing herself from his touch.

"I'm fine." Then remembering the situation, she touched into her rarely used manners adding her thanks to the end.

"No problem." That was when she saw just who he was. It seemed gorgeous, blonde and sexual radiant had finished with his mobile and had turned to damsel saving from his seat two down. "You looked like you needed a little help." She held back her response to the insult and just inclined her head for a few seconds. "He was right about one thing though…" She flashed her eyes up to his coffee coloured ones, reading the free spirited laughter sparkling in them. He leant in closer. "You really shouldn't be drinking alone when you're that gorgeous. You don't know who you might attract." he joked and she found herself letting out a bubble of laughter. "Besides, when you order the bartender to '_keep 'em coming'_ you need a lot more than just a potential stalker to talk to."

"I'm thankful for you getting rid of him, but if you're here for a cheap lay, I'm neither cheap nor up for it." The answer pleased the bartender and she watched as the lord of alcohol began to speak again.

"You heard her Ol-" The blonde cut him off with a finger in the air.

"Give me a chance." He grinned comically. "My name is Jonas, and I'm not here for sex. If I was, I'd already be leaving with the brunette battling with gravity on that table." She tilted her head back seeing a brunette too drunk to even find her way back to the bar. As far as the weakest member of the herd went, she passed with flying colours. "You might want to call her a cab." he added to the barkeep, not for a moment taking his eyes from hers. The idea stuck and her server left them, but he also left her here alone with a stranger named Jonas. "I'm here to keep you company in your misery. So… your name would be a good place to start." He held out his hand. Her gaze rested on it for a few seconds, wondering what the harm could be, then jolted back to his, trying to find something wrong with those pools of chocolate swirls that seemed to caress her with a glance. Even through the dithering seconds he didn't retrieve his hand. Finally, she met him, offering his reward.

"Charlotte." But she didn't find her hand in the grip of a sweaty handshake of a nervous suitor. This man had no doubt about his skills and no lacking in confidence as he lifted her hand to his lips. A soft tickle breezed across her and she felt the rare leap of her heart in her chest. It was possible she was falling for a good guy… or… more likely, this good guy act was nothing more than a face he put on and her attraction had found a hidden darker side to him. Whatever it was she had no objection to the lingering of his lips across her hand.

"My pleasure." he breathed in a laugh, seeing her cheeks tint pink with a blush. "Now, as one drunkard to the next, I believe the sharing of tragic stories is required." Her inner self rolled her eyes, disbelieving he came only for social contact and no big finish of taking her home.

"You're under more alcohol intoxication than me, so please. You first."

"Sorry Goldilocks but my gentleman side thinks 'ladies first' applies here. And besides, I'm only nursing my first beer while you're main-lining the colours of the rainbow."

Instead of answering she dove for a tangent.

"If you're not here for sex, and you haven't even finished your first beer. What **are** you doing here?"

"Work." he simply answered. She rose an eyebrow. "My office is a little crowded these days."

"You couldn't ask your boss for a new one?"

"I could have, but I'm my own boss and I'm hoping to stay away from my company for a few days." She laughed freely, pulling his own humour atop his emotions. "Alright. Com'on. Let's hear your tragedy of life."

Charlotte pulled out a response with an ease of practice. If you put her under a lie detector you wouldn't even get a flicker of the needle she done it so many times.

"First day here after 2 years in California." she started, noticing the bartender return and top up her glass. She inclined her head in thanks and continued. "Not only do I have boxes of my own to un-pack, but my adulterous boss wants transcripts of his last 6 hour meeting typed up for tomorrow. His meeting only finished an hour ago." She rolled her eyes for added effect and sipped at her drink.

"Sucks." Jonas agreed. "Sounds like you need a new job."

"I'm looking." she simply replied, feeling a little truth seep through the bitterness. It was her reason for coming here, her **truthful** reason, new life, new job. "So," she continued, turning back to him. "Aren't you going to tell me a little more of your story?" He smiled, knowing she'd asked out of curiosity rather than politeness.

"Me? You won't like it." She waved him forward anyway. "I'm a slave driving boss of far too many sectors who are all crammed full of too many employee's for the amount of work being done. I need to start loading the gun and firing."

"You're right. I don't like it." she laughed and turned back to her drink. "It might be easier if you go and sit somewhere else where you're not likely to be victim of my anger." He chuckled but made no effort to move from his place. Her mobile vibrated and she cast a casual glance down to her pocket, her fingers swiftly unlocking. Alex. She grinned and downed the rest of her drink, sliding her bills across to cover the cost. Jonas watched her stand.

"The boss calling you for some overtime?" he enquired.

"Something like that." She smiled to him and stuffed the phone back into her pocket.

"Charlotte." The name across his lips had her skin tingling with a special rise she hadn't felt in so long. Even though the name was not her own, she felt so much in those two syllables. Slowly, she turned to find her money in his outstretched hand. "The drinks are on me." She rose an eyebrow.

"Save your money." But his hand stayed firmly where it was. "I can pay for myself." she tried again. "You're not getting any; you shouldn't have to pay for my intoxication." He rose from the stool, his tall frame swamping hers, but as he came closer she didn't care, all she could think about was wrapping her arms around his neck and stealing his breath in a kiss. Still, his hands touched hers and his head inclined. She could feel his breath tickle her cheek as it flowed from his parted lips. Her mind rattled alive at the thought of what she was doing. One kiss and she'd be under his spell. She always had two rules with guys. Rule one; you take them home the same day for sex and you never have to call them again. Rule two; if you miss your first chance, you don't see them again unless you want a relationship. Jonas fell under neither category of men. Alex was finally returning the call and she desperately needed to speak with him, so sleeping with Jonas was out, and she physically couldn't do relationships, so seeing him again was not an option. Regretfully, she stepped back from the approaching kiss.

"Good look with your employees." she breathed and stepped back again, turning for the door.

"All the best with your boss Charlotte." he called back and settled himself into a stool.

Her eyes returned to her phone as she rode the elevator back down, suddenly finding herself agitated and frustrated with no clear explanation. Missed call from Alex, she read.

Once she was back on the cold streets she dashed her arm out, hailing a taxi cab and she shuffled herself in quickly, thanking the lucky star of timing. Hands stuffed into her pockets to escape the icy chill of the back seat only to find her drinks money back in her pocket. 'Damn drunk' she cursed to herself, but without time to go back and straighten him out all she could do was point the driver in the right directions and sulk in silence.

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><p>The bartender rose an eyebrow at him after they had both watched her walk away.<p>

"**Jonas**, Mr Queen?"

"Middle name." he replied, turning back. Charming the ladies had become too easy with his first name. Too many knew it and just saw money and sex. He'd upped his game to a challenge, without the name to the faceless billionaire, could he still pull? Charlotte had resisted, but he swore, he'd have her. She'd be falling head over heels for him soon. His bedroom would once again fill with cries of his name pulled from the female throat in the grip of the best orgasm of her life.

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><p>The Luthor castle stood for the same things Lex did: terror, war and fortified walls. Hidden passages and secret doorways facilitated the lies and deceit enough to govern a small country. She couldn't help but feel a small pinch in the bottom of her stomach telling her to turn back. She'd escaped him once scar-less, but again? It was unlikely.<p>

Each arm had a bear-fighter type security guard as she was walked to his office. It was no surprise he'd be up this late. He usually was, at least for as long as she'd known him. There was always some business crisis or event to organise. Her feet stopped in time with the silent brooding guards and the doors pushed open. Alex had obviously been informed of her entrance and told them to bring her straight in. Currently, he was talking in German on his wireless headset, his back to her as he argued his point to the window, it didn't sound like the window was getting a word in edgeways.

She could honestly say she cared very little for the German language. She _could_ say it was because it always sounded angry and hostile to her, but in truth it was because Lex was better at it than she was. For some reason her tongue just couldn't get around the words like his could.

She settled herself into the leather sofa by the fireplace, slipping her feet out of her heels and tucking them under her legs, waiting for Lex. He turned around a few seconds later and at the sight of her a grin tugged on his lips. Guards left at the flick of his hand and they were alone. Quite possibly a dangerous place to be when opposing a Luthor. But his grin still remained, his eyes focussed on her as he sunk back to his chair behind his desk. From the little she knew of German she got the sense he was wrapping it up quickly. He was probably selling some poor soul down the river of sin.

Smiling, she lifted a glass paperweight from the end table, twisting it in her hand watching the flames in the fireplace shimmer back at her in the crystal. Not a lot had changed in the Luthor mansion, the windows were the same stained glass, the same badge of honour that was the Luthor crest fixed front and centre, the same stench of sulphur as you entered Satan's kingdom.

From the tone of Lex's voice he was winning his devilish deal. Not many people could resist the 'persuasiveness' that spews from the hell mouth of a Luthor. She herself had fallen prey to the trickery of Lionel Luthor, but since then her spine had grown beautifully and she knew almost every play in the Luthor handbook.

She sighed and dropped her head back, hoping the addition to her deal would sway the Luthor and she wouldn't leave as she had last time.

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><p>"<em>Lex?" He turned sharp, a flash of shock claiming him as he saw she was alone in his study. It was just a flash, arguably not there at all, but she knew Lex's reactions inside and out; he <em>_**never**__ showed any weakness. She smiled, pulling off the sweltering wig and tossing loose her hair. _

"_Last I heard you were still in Spain." Again her grin grew; one-upping Lex was a great feat. "And you also got past my guards." he added suspiciously, probably making a mental note to talk with his security team about this, to start loading the gun and firing. Metaphorically, of course._

"_Really Lex, I know every hidden passage in this old castle, probably better than you do. A few guards on a fixed rotation won't faze me." Though at that second the doors burst open and his security team had their guns pointed at her. Lex stepped forward, waving them out with a smirk that told her she wasn't as un-seen as she thought. When the last hired hand left he spoke again._

"_What can I do for you? I assume you have a purpose since I haven't contacted you recently." He motioned for her to sit with him and she accepted, smoothing out her outfit with care and control._

"_I have something you want. And you have something __**I**__ want. I propose a trade." Lex said nothing, so she carried on with her demand. "I want my freedom." He chuckled under his breath. "I want an entire new life" she continued, making the most out of his wordlessness. "I want a home, a job, out of everything and anything associated with the name Luthor. I want all records of me erased. New name, new past, new future. More importantly; I want the papers in my hands bearing __**my**__ signature." He looked at her through his lashes testing her stoic requirement. _

"_Quite a demand." he spoke, admirable of her guts. Her eyes followed his fingers than ran across his upper lip in thought. "And in return?"_

"_You know after all these years I've developed contacts in both high and low places. Out of respect I haven't broken any trusts with them-"_

"_But now you want to barter with the names?"_

"_I can give you names, addresses, associates, work sites and clientele bases. You can have arms dealers, black market traders, inside cops, mafia contacts… anything your black heart desires. You can use them however you want. You can tear down the country, or shape it on its head."_

"_And what makes you think I have any remote interest in your friends of the criminal underworld?"_

"_Because they know things you would pay generously to hear."_

"_I'll admit it's enticing, but for the stakes you've made it's not even close to enough. Go back to Spain. I'm sorry you've wasted a journey, but I'm not interested. You'll hear from me when I need you." She read the sign to leave loud and clear, but she needed this._

"_Damn it Lex. I can't do this anymore. I have the government following my every step. I have nothing left here. I'm tired and I'm not living like this any longer."_

"_I'm sorry, I can't do anything. I always thought you enjoyed your work."_

"_I made the best from a shitty situation." she snapped quickly, but found no room in his armour. "You're hands aren't tied, they are just greedy! Damn it Lex, haven't you had your thrills of me by now?"_

"_Replacing you is a risk I'm not willing to take, your work is the best, and while I have you under my possession do not think I will lightly pass you over."_

"_Sorry I came!" she hissed and turned on her heel._

"_Chloe-" But she was gone._

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><p>The German stopped flowing to her ears and Lex set the wireless device to the table. Still sat in the seat he calmly looked over her with a smile. She liked to think she was Lex's favourite out of all his property, but she knew it was only because she had no expiry date, nor limit on loyalty. She settled herself into a confident pose, one that seemed passable in the great Luthor mansion and let the wicked side of her personality loose. The side Lionel had tried to tamper down to obedience, the very same one Lex had tried to raise for his own pleasure of making his father squirm. The squirming of Lionel Luthor was a joy they both shared. Her elbow sat on the arm rest, her head casually held on the fingertips of her open palm. Lex's eyes turned bright with a glimmer of lust, and an evil smile signified he'd finished evaluating her.<p>

"Miss Sullivan. How long has it been?" He pushed off the chair, and picked up the scotch. She declined, like she always did. She knew how many people were out gunning for Lex's blood. Drinking anything intended for him could be the very last thing she did. It never put him off though.

"Too long Lex. Far too long." He circled his desk, scotch in hand, and took the first sip. Like always, she was surprised when his throat didn't close. "Some little birdie told me your daddy had a run-in of the negative kind." she breathed calmly, preparing her proposition like a military operation.

"I've been told he's still alive, so I imagine he has." Lex spoke dismissively over his drink. A few sips went and still his heart kept beating. Maybe he had developed immunity to poisons after all these years. But, he never had any immunity when it came to curiosity. If Lex had been unlucky enough to be a cat he'd have been dead long ago. However much he could portray disinterest in anything concerning his father, Chloe knew he'd always grab hold of any inch offered to one-up him. It wouldn't take long before he tugged on her offered conversational string. "Just out of curiosity-" Chloe grinned knowingly. "What exactly has daddy dearest got himself into this time?" She had always been able to place people well. Growing up around Luthor habits had taught her the many faces of humanity. Though sometimes… Lex still managed to surprise her.

"It was a while ago actually. A little bit of theft occurred at one of his events. A necklace was taken." She slipped her feet from the sofa, her bare soles comfortable as she walked freely across the smooth wood. She stopped before Lex, perching slightly on the back of the sofa as he leant against his desk.

"I am aware." he confirmed. She didn't expect otherwise. Lex had always kept an eye on his father. Professionally, never emotionally. That care for his love had died long ago.

"As expected." she complimented with a swift incline of her head, the golden curls bouncing with the movement. "But do you know who took it?"

"Some meteor freak dressed in leather playing Cowboys and Indians." His voice was unconcerned, but she knew just how much time and money he'd spent chasing '_some freak'_.

"Nope." She popped the 'p' and twirled around, dancing the floor lithely to stand against the liquor stash and turn the many bottles to read the labels. Lex had always had expensive tastes. It was good to see little had changed.

Her smile grew more pronounced as she turned around to see his eyebrows raise. When she offered no more he stepped to meet her, his new Italian leather shoes making little noise across the rosewood floors. He took her hand and guided her turn to face him. Her shoulder only just brushed his bicep. The majority of the time she didn't bother noticing height difference because it just became a nuisance. But Lex always had the upper hand with her, sometimes she just craved that bit more height. Of course, to kiss a taller man was delightful, it angled into something more potent than mere lust, it could even be used to start that romantic spark should she desire. She never did allow it that far.

Lex's eyes narrowed, testing his judgement of what he saw in her. Finally, he stabbed into the dark.

"You know who he is?" The tone was as disbelieving as his mind, but her grin offered him reason to pause.

"Of course I don't." She smirked at his exhaled breath. "But I know you want to. I also happen to know that the last '_agent_' you hired to deal with your archer problem ended up on the other side of the line." She wasn't naive in thinking Lex was a white knight striving for good. No, you'd have to be stupid to think that. There were grey areas in good and bad. She saw Lex for the grey he was, but she refused to stand by anyone else. Lex had done amazing things for Metropolis and Smallville. Hell, he was changing the world with the work Luthorcorp did. Sure, he didn't care much for his staff and wasn't above lying, threatening, or blackmailing, (much like dear old daddy in that respect) but in the long run, he had nothing but good intentions for the world he lived in. Unlike this menace of an archer. Chloe knew the meteor man would end up in one of Lex's cages and probably be tested, abused and basically lost to the world outside white coat labs. She didn't like it and she didn't support it. But the man was a criminal, he deserved all he got. Lex may have twisted practices, but he kept the streets safe and there was no-one else to do that. People needed him to sleep soundlessly at night without fear of their next steps being their last. He was doing everyone a favour by keeping these criminals off the streets. The lesser of two evils. Clear streets in exchange for handing over criminals to him for his own sick pleasures.

Lex lowered her hand to her side and stepped back. He slid into his office chair, his feet up on the desk. He knew what she wanted, and he knew she'd be dealing for it. He grinned and watched her brush her fingers through her spirals of curls.

"You want to try." he accused knowingly. Chloe was a complex person, but her behaviours had motive. Usually money to fuel her expensive tastes. It usually led her directly to trouble as well.

"Not try." she corrected. "I intend nothing less than success." Lex grinned, admiring the trait. He had seen woman take over the business world with the courage, confidence and discipline Chloe showed in her stubbornness. When she got her teeth into something she didn't stop until she was down to the bone. Even then she'd search for that little extra. "But I'd much rather get something out of it," she continued "I happen to have been told an '_Oliver Queen_' is back in town and if you won't agree to my conditions I could always take some money from his hands."

"Queen?" Lex repeated in disgust, anger lacing his eyes at the very name. No need to read the dislike there. The business world was vicious at best. Rivalries were like the morning shot of coffee; you had to have it to function and be successful, also, if you let it, you get to enjoy it as you drain them dry.

"Don't be offended Lex. I came here first didn't I? I'm simply saying that letting this offer slip through your fingers will be wasteful and all the victory of un-masking metropolis's villain will fall to someone else."

"Your proposition?" Lex cut straight to the chase, pulled out another grin and her eyes flew back to him. She advanced, knocking his feet from the desk and taking perch there.

"Same conditions I asked for the last time I stood here. Freedom, in all respects. Chloe Sullivan is erased and her past goes with it. Another identity rises up in a secure location with a comfortable amount in her bank and never gets spoken to by a Luthorcorp employee again." He smirked.

"And in exchange?"

"I deliver you the deadly archer's head on a silver platter." Her fingers rolled smoothly over an oddly shaped paper weight. "Figuratively." she added, leaving the decoration as it was.

"Throw in all your old contacts and we may have a deal Miss Sullivan."

"Nice doing business with you Mr Luthor." She grinned and swung down from the desk to where she'd left her shoes.

"Actually." He stood as well, following to pause at the sofa's back, his hands in his pockets casually. "We're not finished quite yet. There are some more conditions to my offer. A side job." Chloe lost all her happiness in those words. Suddenly, she found herself thankful her back was turned. Sure, he might stab her, but her grimace was hidden for those few seconds it took her to recompose her face. It was times like these she hated the deal she made with the Luthors.

"Alex…" Now it was his turn to drop the smug expression. "You said there wasn't anything you needed from me." She knew he hated the name, she used it with every intention of pissing him off. It certainly worked well.

"And you said you were coming for a social visit." he countered. "You have 4 months maximum. You'll be staying in the castle with me and we shall resume our old agreement during this time, if you still find it acceptable." Chloe felt the weight lift from her shoulders slightly, she'd expected worse. Their old agreement wasn't that bad. Just conditions and benefits that made living situations easier. Chloe nodded in acceptance. "Good. Sit down. There are other things." He inclined his head to the couch and she sat while he poked at the fire.

She always though it comical to find a fire in Lex's mansion. The only warmth thing about Lex was his fire, and even that was dying down. Though at times, when the situation called for it, he had been known to be charming to the lesser sex.

She lounged back on the seat, her small frame stretching out the travel-cramped muscles. Lex's expression turned suggestive and she shot him back an innocent smile, if he ever had seen one. Still, he always managed to find some warmth for her. They understood each other. Their relationship wasn't so much a love of passion, more convenience. She understood his quirks, his business dynamics, his loose availability and she knew how to deal with his anger. She was a brilliant outlet for any emotion he couldn't healthily deal with. He was a scratcher for an itch, a company for the lone wolf destined to die alone. He wasn't the relationship guy, nor the emotional baggage. They fit each other in a distorted kind of way, but there was never any emotion in their sexual extra-curricular. He enjoyed having another body around he didn't have to keep secrets and lie to, and she was the same. She didn't expect anything from him, nor him her. It was, in its own way, perfect for them. Lex leaned back on the opposite sofa, looking amazingly at home with his self as he spread out his arms across the back. "I need more security." he finally spoke.

"Do I look like I could barricade a door?" she laughed, toying with him. "Though I appreciate the two brutes that brought me in. Intimidating and beautifully well built. One wonders which cage fight you broke apart." she continued with a smile. He adored her smile, her simple humour was just an added bonus.

"Electronic security." he corrected himself. "There are files of great importance I need to ensure stay out of the wrong hands." Translation; I have bad man stuff I don't want leaking out. Chloe had dealt with it all before and more. It was what she specialised in. It took her all over the world, hacking, protecting. Computer magic of the highest quality. It paid nice and the buyers didn't care for names or credentials as long as you did the job, kept your mouth shut and stayed away from the police.

What kind of files? How much security? These things didn't matter, she could do anything. "What kind of accommodation?" That was the key question. The guest house maybe? Pool house? Servant's quarter? The little cottage out back the old gardener used to live in? Then again, he had probably already filled that with a new landscaper by now.

"Highest security. Impenetrable. Untraceable and unhackable." Lex answered her unspoken question anyway. It was the usual kind she liked to do. "Files range from audio, video and multiple document type. I need the protection on every electronic copy and devices I possess. Unbreakable." Chloe let out a low whistle. Lex didn't do things by halves. It made her wonder why now? What was after him? Still, everyone had skeletons hiding in their closet. Admittedly, Lex's closet was more alike to a graveyard of a serial killer, but the end justified his means.

"That's asking for quite a bit Lex. It'll cost you." she warned, but they both knew he had the money. "Accommodation?" she prompted.

"I'm sure there's a wing in the mansion you will find satisfactory."

"A wing? Wow, you must really need these files protected."

"Or I like to keep an eye on you." he offered with a smile.

"Don't strain something with your flattery Lex." she replied and made a mental walkthrough of the mansion already choosing her room.

"There's something else as well." he continued. Chloe lost her buzz yet again. "A little digging I'd like you to do."

"How little?"

"A ten minute job." Like she said, sometimes she hated the deal she made with the Luthor's. She sighed resigned and waved her hand at him. Saying no to a Luthor lead to dangerous circumstances where people got hurt. Mainly herself. She'd learnt that the very very hard way.

"Who and what?" she asked already feeling tired.

"Oliver Queen. I want his company." Lex stated like she had the power to simply hand over a billion dollar corporation.

"A little out of your reach isn't it Lex?" He wasn't offended.

"Not with you on my side." Chloe grinned and let herself relax again. Lex didn't compliment freely. "Financial records. Bank statements. Company transactions."

"Why Lex, that's illegal." she mock protested with a laugh. She breathed out a sigh. "It's simple enough. Just give me all you have and I'll do the rest." She allowed her resolve and with the feeling of concluded business in the air she stood, smoothing out her outfit.

"Chloe?" Lex's voice had her tense again. The Luthor rollercoaster ladies and gents, just when you think you're safe.

"Alex…" she hissed through her teeth. But it wasn't another favour for him, it was for her.

"How much trouble are you in this time?" She breathed out in relief and turned back with a grin.

"FBI's a little nosey. Nothing I can't evade. But the lab geeks inside the government are following my access tunnels and cheat codes." she laughed at her own phrasing; Lex wouldn't understand technology language, like she wouldn't understand business board talks. "So, hacking is a little slower these days and my programmes have to be re-routed through differ-" she stopped short at his black expression. "It would be helpful if they didn't know where I lived, or **if** I lived, for a little while. That's all." He chuckled.

"Go find yourself a wing. I'll have you luggage brought over this afternoon from whatever sleazy hell drain you've been staying in." She smiled and delivered the address before making peace with her new dwellings.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>(I have nothing against germans. The bartender can be Jimmy if you want it to be, I didn't plan it like that, but since he won't be featured again, we can make it Jimmy. Also, the quotes are going to be a running theme I think, so I apologise if I refer to the wrong episode or add in extra words. Also, spelling mistakes are all mine, sorry. Write me if you spot one and it bothers you. I won't be offended, i'll be grateful.)<p>

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><p>Reviews are ALWAYS welcome, even if you've just started reading this. All writers adore reviews and feedback, I'll happily take construcive criticism too, feel free to leave a smiley face if that's all you want to say. Haha.<p>

Glad to be back writing again :D Hope you enjoyed and enjoy.

Xx


	2. Breaking In

First, I would like to say a HUGE thanks to everyone who has read/reviewed/put on alert, my story. It's so lovely to see you're liking this so far.

Second, I know I said to a few reviewers that there would be an amazing Green Arrow/Oliver bit in this chapter. As it turns out, that's not so much true. I had to jiggle around the chapters. Don't look at me like that! This chapter would have been 12 pages of my word document otherwise, so I split it, jiggled it, and now each chapter will be around 9 pages (size 12 font). That way you won't get a really long chapter, then a really short one. I think it's better like this, so I must apologise, but there will be Oliver/GA and Chloe action next chapter. And I think you'll like it (it depends if you like flirtacious banter really - but I shall say no more).

Your support is amazing!

Xx

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><p><span>Chapter Two; Breaking In.<span>

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><p>'<em>Weakness isn't something you're born with. You learn it.' <em>– Lionel Luthor. (Season 3, Episode Legacy)

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><p>Chloe sat herself on the chosen bed. The mattress welcomed her, curving to her shape in a soft hug. The luxury bedspread was begging to be felt and ran against her smoothest skin, she indulged her whim. It shamed anything she'd ever felt before. But honestly, she didn't care which room she took. Lex preferred his own settlements in the north facing side, with the view overlooking the front entrance to his palace. He always had, and probably, he always would. Her feet had naturally taken the west side overlooking the bountiful gardens lavished with care and attention. Without a doubt it would be absolutely free of weeds, full of fragrance and dazzling to the eyes with the amounts of colours the staff could magically blend in harmony. It wasn't just the view from the room that had helped her choose. The bottom floor of the east was the staff's quarters. It had been her hell hole for a good few number of years under Lionel's reign of terror. She still battled nightmares about that place. They didn't care for your comfort at all there. What a difference a few years and a staircase could make.<p>

With a sigh, she dropped back to the bedding soundlessly, shuffling her feet out of their confining heels. Her soles were throbbing alive with an attention demanding ache. Perhaps now she'd finally have a chance to stop running. Her previous few jobs had come close to being her last. It had been the final twist in the bitch that was her shitty life. That last straw had prompted her to do anything and everything to escape that fate. But really, it wasn't her fault. Who knew the Spanish were so friendly with the United States government? If she hadn't called Lex about her proposed 'social visit' she didn't know if she would still be connected to a beating heart now.

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><p><em>Pushing another heavy breath from her lungs she continued to press heels to paving. Why she had worn heels she had no idea, she knew there was a chance of this happening. But the money was too good to pass up. Maybe that should have been the give-away and make her pause for thought, but the purse was growing slimmer and another trip to the bank was too risky. All she needed was nestled in her arms, jostling against her heaving chest as she picked up the pace. Risking a glance back at her pursuers, the foreign shade of copper coloured hair whipped out. Brown, long, curled and shiny, nothing like the honey she kept hidden underneath.<em>

_Hugging the laptop closer, she barrelled around the corner, splitting the locals as they cursed in a language she had yet to fully comprehend. She knew enough to get by, enough to know they weren't yelling pleasantries, and enough to know the men chasing her had no objection to putting a bullet in her. But she knew these back alleys almost better than they did. She knew which doors led to the whore houses and which to the gambling bars that licences forbade. She fell neatly into the world of criminals and they were more than happy to accept her. Her feet slipped in the sweat lined heels as she skidded another corner, cutting quick into the crowd. It was a bazaar today, lots of festivities, lots of noise, lots of fun, but above all, lots of people. The perfect place for a secret meeting with a needy client. Only today's client had an offer of jail time rather than the cash she desired. Using both cunning and skill she'd avoided the cuffs, but now there were men in uniform and street clothes both chasing her down. She dodged between customers of cheap fake jewellery and let the feeling of failure wash over her. It wasn't the first time she'd had a run in with the law like this. But it made her feel better knowing the results would be much the same; she'd disappear like magic and they'd go home with heads hung low and hands empty._

_She made her living bypassing levels of security some sectors of the government didn't have access to. They made their living trying to close the gaps in their fingers she kept slipping through._

_Another quick corner, another alley, another false slip. She'd lost some of them, swallowed by the crowd. It wasn't hard when the streets were this busy. Shouts came in Spanish for her to stop. Stop or they would shoot. She disregarded it and kept pushing on, trying to ignore the burning sensation flaring in her lungs and legs. The buggers were pretty fast and she was running out of alley tricks… and oxygen. A bullet soared to her left, missing her leg by an inch. She jumped and swerved right down another alley, praying it wouldn't lead to a dead end. _

_The playground of her work had many turns and ends, if you take the wrong one, it can be **your **end. She twisted down another skinny alley, tossing the wig one way and she sprouted the other. The Mac came off next folded over her arm and she rounded back the way she came. She knew she would have no other option but to return somewhere safe after this. She couldn't stay in this country. She'd have to lay low until this died down. Flying was becoming increasingly difficult, customs had facial scanners looking for anyone matching her bone structure. All her fake ID's were tagged and new ones were impossible to get on such short notice for a quality to pass customs checks. She dragged in a breath again, peering around the corner to watch the police split, following the direction of her tossed wig. _

_A hand grasped at her arm and tugged her aside into a building. Her fight reflex was cut short as she recognised the décor. _

"_Miss Angela." One of the girls from the cat house had tugged her away, just in time to miss an official's narrowed gaze. "Come." The door shut after them and she left herself be tugged down the corridor of sultry red walls. "Your man send you help." she hissed out as Chloe tried to remember how to breathe. Her fingers were sliding with sweat across her laptop, her heart still hammering inside her chest. "He in here." The words were heavy in accent, the English was poor at best but the notion carried to her oxygen starved brain. It shamed her even to need it, but she knew without a doubt he would send an escape for her. She'd emailed him a few days back after her last brush with the law, with the desire of a return back to the USA. Lex worked fast and his high hand swooped in just at the right time._

"_Miss Sullivan." The suited man looked 100% uncomfortable and out of place in the cat house interior. Bathed in the red lights of seduction the girls leering eyes were mentally undressing him._

"_Darren." She nodded and leant against the wall, sucking back in the air. It smelled like cigars and stale sex, but it was bringing colour back to her face. He had sent his best. Going himself would have drawn too much attention. His head of security however, was the next best thing. He took the laptop from her fingers, an arm around her as she took the air her aching muscles demanded._

"_Another close call Miss?" She flashed dark eyes up to him, knowing his humorous side was loving this._

"_Say. Another. Word." she panted. "And the entire house. Will find out. About Morocco." He stiffened and straightened his tie, nodding. His eyes inspected her for grazes of injuries and she pushed herself back to standing. "Right. Got me a ticket to go home? I'm dying for a bubble bath." Darren stifled a laugh and handed her some other clothes._

_When changed she let her tongue speak their language with goodbyes and thanks. For now she'd be Claire Hartford, wife to Darren Hartford, major contributor to Luthor enterprise. All flights direct to Metropolis were checked so as an alternative, Darren's high standing would get her un-noticed and escorted safely up the country for a few miles and get her onto a shipping boat headed to Granville. Darren stayed behind once he saw her off, leading the police round in circles while she disappeared. Then he would fly back home._

_After a few hours of sea sickness and the smell of fish she'd donned another disguise, hopped a train home and settled herself into a motel for a surprisingly cold 'hot' shower and flea ridden mock effort at sleep. Then the call of alcohol demanded she answer until Lex gave her a green light to storm his fort._

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><p>She left her reminisce, thinking Darren would probably be back at the Luthor fortress by now. He'd helped her out of a lot of sticky situations before on behalf of Lex's input. He could take a joke and he wasn't above having a heart. Out of all Lex's security, he was her favourite. Chloe ran her fingers over the dresser, finding her reflection staring back from the mirror. It was lightly dashed with a hint of foundation, a tiny edge of dark eye shadow over her lids, giving her that seductive whip of her aqua eyes. It was a face easily forgotten as she walked down the street, she needed it to be trusted, to be good at her job and to be invisible in a crowd. Her hair was bouncing with curls after her undesirable shower. It was happy to be free of wigs, her eyes happy to be without coloured contacts or glasses. She could be anything or anyone, but around Lex, she could just be normal Chloe. That thought put a smile back on her face.<p>

"You redecorated." she stated, feeling a shadow behind her, the air feint with the musky and distinctly male cologne he wore. The mirror confirmed his presence in the doorway, leaning casually. Like he had nothing better to do.

"My taste's changed." Lex simply answered. He pushed from the side, walking further into the room. "Though I still find you breathtaking." She smiled and turned back from the mirror.

"Smooth Lex." she complimented and nodded to the 4 poster bed that dominated the space. "I like it."

"I thought you would." He came from behind, his arms snaking around her waist as he drew her close, his chin resting on her shoulder. "Your company was missed." He nudged her hair free of her neck, his lips touching brief kisses along her throat and down to her shoulders.

She knew he didn't really miss her as a specific. He just liked someone around he didn't have to romance for sex, someone he didn't have to lie to or take out or listen to drabble about their lives. She relaxed into him, assisting his fingers in unbuttoning her blouse. Their agreement came with benefits. One was being put into action swiftly.

"I missed you too." she spoke, feeding the dance more fuel. The words didn't cost her anything to say. Her soul was already blackened by the numerous lies over the years, the deceit; the trickery. The Luthor handbook had become her lesson in life and she had been taught well, but they didn't tell you the price for success was your heart and soul.

"I suppose some man named Raul will be in sheds of tears around now." She breathed a laugh, enjoying the feel of his fingers across her skin as they met with the buttons of her trousers.

"If there was a Raul, I suppose he would be." she allowed. "There was only Pablo, Jesùs, maybe an Antonio." Lex growled lowly at her tease turning her in his arms.

"And now?" he prompted, her blouse tossed aside, her breasts free of any bra and crushed against his chest.

"Now I only see you." she purred, knowing exactly what he wanted to hear. Her fingers slithered up the wine red shirt, the black tie in her grasp and she walked back slowly, he followed on her lead. His usual blank expression became lustful, his eyes darkened and his lips stole hers, taking back the control. It was always a fight for control between them, and he always ended up winning.

The back of her legs found the bed. He pounced, taking her with a squeal as they sank to the quilt. The belt found its way free, clothes lost in the war of sex, her fingers too busy running the planes of his solid hairless chest to care. With other lovers she might roll her hands in their hair. Somehow, Lex's baldness didn't make her crave them. It made her crave his touch, again and again, until she forgot everything and anything. He entered her swiftly and they rocked the familiar rhythm until it was nothing but sweat, sex and moans in the room.

She lay in her afterglow, her head rested on his chest listening to his heart slow to a healthy pace. It still amazed her that he even had a heart beat for someone so destructive and controlling. The smooth fingertips of his digits rolled in quiet wash over her bare shoulder. Lex was rarely ever as calm as he was post-coitus. But like all good things, they had to end. She wasn't naive to think she'd spend the next 20 minutes in his embrace until they both dropped off to sleep. No, she had that erased after the first time he shoved her off him. Now she knew him too well. Well enough that when the mumbled vibrations of his mobile kicked up a call she sat up first, before he could double tap her shoulder and push her off him. He slid from the bed, pulling on the silk boxers and slacks before fishing the top of the line mobile. A heavy breath exhaled from him and declined the call, ending the noise. Whoever was on the caller idea didn't please him.

"Bad news?" she asked from her position, the bed sheet covering her modestly. Lex turned back to her, fastening the fly of his trousers swiftly.

"Nothing for you to worry about." _Read; none of her business_. He swept his hand down scooping the shirt and throwing it on in a temper. "Sleep off your jetlag." he instructed, dismissing her again. "Help yourself to whatever you want, the staff know you're here and will accommodate your needs. I'll have the file on the Green Arrow Bandit ready for you when you wake." He pulled the belt through the loops for a second then finished the shirt.

"Green Arrow Bandit?" The name didn't ring any bells.

"The archer fiend." he sneered and he drifted closer to the bed, she automatically leant closer expecting of the kiss. "The media are having a field day." he continued and bent down to place his lips to her forehead. Not exactly where she wanted him, but it would be all he would give. Then he was gone. No caress, no sweet whispered words of adoration. Just the weight taken from the bed as he walked to the doors like he'd done nothing more than another of his many business transactions. "It was your cousin who named him. Take it up with her." Those last words preceded the click of her door as it shut behind him. The hollow edge of the sleazy one night stand came assisted with a huge dose of guilt. Lois.

Chloe sighed and dropped all her weight back to the bed. The sheet fell from her chest but she didn't have to energy to protect what was left of her modesty.

Lex could be a cruel, cold hearted bastard sometimes. Lord knows why she deserved that low blow but even an angel's touch couldn't make it sting any less. With a sigh, she kicked the blouse from the edge of the bed to fall crumpled to the floor.

She missed Lois. So very much. Lois still thought Chloe had run away halfway across the globe for education and a killer story. It was made that way to everyone she knew. Lionel had handed her an untraceable mobile and told her to make the calls. Her father, her best friends, her cousin, they were all told the same message. Your basic _'Don't try to find me, I don't want to be found'_ After the first 3 months her father has hired a private investigator who came up blank. After the first year Lois's pestering had reached the General and he'd sent a squad searching for his niece. Even the army came up blank.

But that was the better way, at least that was what she thought before. Lionel had given her the option of faking her death, or running away. She'd taken the second. But would it have been more merciful to let them think her dead? They could have moved on with their lives by now. She knew for a fact that Lois hadn't given in. Even after all these years she still had a small part of her attentions searching for anything Chloe related. Maybe if she'd been dead in her eyes, her cousin could finally move on and live a little. Still, Lois was doing well career wise, on the fast track onwards and upward in journalism for the daily planet. When she'd first heard it she had to check it wasn't an April fools. Lois; a journalist? Her relationship with the spell check would be dangerously close and not always healthy: her spelling had always sucked.

But Lex had offered her an option Lionel had not. He'd let her have the option of calling back her cousin and contacting those old friends… but after all this time, there would be too many questions she couldn't answer. She wouldn't bring answers and salvation to Lois, she'd bring more pain, more questions and more obsessions into digging up those years she was astray. Chloe dropped herself into the pillow and squirrelled down into the sheets for warmth Lex could not give. Maybe sleeping without fear of being awoken by guns pointed at her would help. A single tear dripped down her face as she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep.

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><p>Chloe woke to find a tray of breakfast products in her room directly in her line of sight. Panic flooded her system. Had she forgot to lock herself in the room while she slept? Of course as soon as the thought came she saw the décor and her living situation came back to her. It didn't stop the irk that she'd slept through someone parading food through her room while she was unconscious. Her mood was worsened as she saw the time. 1pm… how long had she slept? Well, she could only hope Lex would chose to not pick on her sleeping habits while she was here. Of course, she knew it was a long shot. Chloe rolled over to the other side and saw the clean empty floor, amiss of her clothes. She scowled at the carpet. If Lex didn't terrorise the staff so much with their daily dose of fear, maybe she'd have something to wear. He wasn't the maniac his father was. But as a general rule there wasn't a single member of staff who dared to oppose a command. Chloe was the only exception… but really, the word 'staff' was used very loosely. Prisoner maybe would be more suited. Hostage? No… none really applied. She'd signed herself away knowing this would happen. Granted her other option was to let a bullet penetrate her cranium, but it had been her own free will to play queen in the chess match between father and son.<p>

Chloe lifted the sheet around her and slipped from the bed over to the food. But as soon as she caught the glimpse of the Green Arrow Bandit file she lost her appetite. Lois would probably be fluttering away in the bull pen trying to type out the new article at super speed to satisfy her editors. She snatched the file angrily and turned it over in her hand. A post-it was stuck to the back with Lex's handwritten font scrawled all over it.

'_Your clothes are thrown out. New ones are in the wardrobe.'_

She ground her teeth at his high handed behaviour and in protest threw the note across the room. Then sat on the bed in nothing but the sheet. In further protest to the new clothes she tipped the file upside down and unleashed the information in torrents across the bed. 20 minutes later she gave in with the collection and went to the wardrobe too curious of what Lex would deem appropriate wear for her.

She pulled open the walk in wardrobe and found rails of her sizes. Dresses, trousers, blouses, swimsuits, even jeans. Had this been here before? She hoped to God it had, otherwise not only had she slept through a maid bringing her food, but also a bunch of personal shoppers parading clothes in while she slept… naked.

Deciding to forget that issue for the sake of her sanity, she explored further finding underwear and her favourite perfumes and bathroom products. Most of the time Lex was an ass, but there were rare special occasions like this where he showed he could listen and he was capable of acts of kindness. She smiled and snatched a large bath sheet softer than she'd ever been accustomed to and ran into the bathroom. Oh, it was beautiful! She could most definitely get used to this style of life. She showered and dressed, feeling a million times better and picked back up her search through Green Arrow. It sounded better without the bandit she thought. But she could hardly take it up with her cousin.

She was just thinking of heading down to find Lex when two quick taps hit her door and Lex let himself in before she could open her mouth.

"Nice to see you've finally decided to wake up." She groaned internally, he never could pass up an opportunity to point out other's flaws. "I'd ask if you slept well but I already know the answer." He grinned with his hands in his pockets and leant against one of the posts of the bed.

"What do you want me to say Lex? It's nice to finally sleep without the threat of being woken by a dozen Spanish officers with loaded rifles."

"I don't think _la policía_ use rifles Chloe." he replied with a grin. She sighed and dropped the point addressing another.

"Is this all there is?" she asked, her head tilted to the files she'd organised into piles across the bed. Inside the envelope had been everything Green Arrow related. Starting with newspaper clippings and ending with witness testimonies about the incidents. A security camera had made the effort to capture a blurred shot of the emerald thief in his costume. No head shot though, just the outer frame of his body as he ran uninterrupted away with the prize. There wasn't even a good shot of his weaponry. It seemed Robin Hood was a little camera shy. She'd have to change that.

"Everything connected to the criminal so far." he confirmed.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you've stocked a little more though." Lex smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, letting her reel off the information she guaranteed he had hidden somewhere. "I'll need everything about what was stolen, the blueprint of the area and evidence of his escape route to plot over it. Guest list would be a good place to start too. Also, any other testimonies in the past two month relating to arrows or green dressed fiends."

"I'll have them in your hands soon. But now you'll be starting work on bank accounts and securing files." She nodded and nudged the laptop from her knee to the side where she promptly closed down the file composition she had of the green fiend and tucked the personal computer under her arm. She followed Lex down the halls to one of his offices he favoured.

"Which files do you want-"

"Later." he interrupted and pulled out some paper sheets for her. "Find Queen's banking records." he instructed and she sighed before taking the files. He let her settle with the information he already had then left out the door. Instantly his departure lifted a weight from her shoulders, she hated being watched while she worked, but clients never seemed to understand that. At least Lex did.

She worked her magic and when Lex walked back in she smiled proudly and swivelled on his computer chair in a peaceful bliss, yet her lips spoke like the devil she was.

"Guess who knows how much Oliver Queen has in his bank account?" she teased and sent the copies direct to the printer which kicked up a fuss in the previously quiet room. Lex let the evil grin loose once more. Power was flowing to his hands again, all due to her.

"You work wonderful magic Chloe."

"I'm not done _yet_ Lex." she berated comically. "Guess who can tell you what Oliver Queen has been squandering his time and money on for the last two month?" Lex rose an eyebrow but she held up a finger, still not finished. That finger turned and crooked him forward. He didn't usually follow orders, especially from women, but this one promised something sinfully brilliant. "I'm going to need chocolate cake for this one." she warned him as he leant over her shoulder. "Take a wild guess what this button does." Her mouse hovered over a circular red icon on his desktop.

"I have no idea." he spoke honestly, but Chloe's tone said he would love it.

"Shocking." she mocked "Are you ready to be amazed by my wonderful skills?" Lex impatiently nudged her hand from the mouse and double clicked. Everyone who'd met Lex knew he only liked his tease in the bedroom, even then it was a push. He was a man that liked control.

A black screen opened and maximized to fill the screen. A timer loaded centrally. He turned back to Chloe, about to complain, but she cut him short.

"Genius takes time, Lex. Be patient. You'll be rewarded." He just rose an eyebrow again. "Look." His eyes turned back and his vision was feasted with the interior of Queen Industries. "Oh. Look. We tuned in right on time." she spoke and the doors opened as a blonde man walked in with a letter in his hand and a phone to his ear. His head was bent as he read, his features undistinguishable, but Lex knew it was Oliver. Chloe had bugged Oliver's office. Brilliant. "Guess who activated a little piece of untraceable magic in Queen's security cameras?" she whispered as he leaned closer. She couldn't be more pleased with her work.

"Amazing." he praised in awe. That simple word warmed her more than a steaming cup of coffee. Such genuine praise from Lex was as revered as the word of God to your ear, and just as hard to obtain. He watched Queen sit down at his computer, his free hand moving as if in a conversation still. "No sounds?" And just like that Lex robbed her victory.

"Doesn't work like that." she defended herself and the work that had taken her last hour and best skills. "We'd need a bug inside the lair of doom for voices." she continued. But still, she couldn't shake the feeling she'd seen this pixel shaped man before, if he'd only lift his head to the camera, maybe she'd recognise him. Quickly, she vacated the computer chair, offering it Lex back and gathered the printed documents to hand over. "All transaction details are saved in a folder free for you to password as you choose, the printed copies are here and bank statements are as well. Printed, but not saved for obvious reasons. I can get new ones when you require. Otherwise, I'm done for the destruction of your business opponent and I can start building up your protection systems when you want me."

"Later." he spoke dismissively and she took the hint, unplugging the laptop and causing a moment's pause in the streaming before it cleared up and continued. His attention switched from the screen and he spoke again before she reached the doors. "Darren said you were a bit out of shape in your recent running hobbies." Chloe halted and turned on her heels.

"I'm sure you'd be out of shape if you tried losing three squads of Spanish and American government operatives. Shove some heels on your feet then we'll see who's panting shall we?" He laughed, taking his eyes once more from the screen to her.

"Mi casa es su casa señorita." The Spanish was like a second tongue to both of them and soothed her somewhat. "You're free to use anything you see fit. I'm sure if you ask Darren, he'd be more than happy to teach you a few things on the mats too." Darren was the only security in Lex's fleet that he called by his first name, the only one Lex trusted his life to and the only one he enjoyed sparring with.

"I'm sure he would." she answered still intending to head back to her room and finish her Green Arrow search.

"Or…" Lex continued. "Alternatively, you could wait a few hours while I tie up some loose ends and I can give you some time myself." She pondered it for a second. Maybe she'd have more fun beating up Lex than Darren. She smiled with an evil hint and turned back.

"I suppose I could wait a little while." He nodded and her hand pulled open the door.

"Oh, and Chloe." Cursing internally she turned back. "I appreciate the work." he added and she nodded as she left his office grateful of the words.

But Lex never called for her; instead Darren filled the door frame in his place, informing her Mr Luthor had to step out. She hadn't expected Lex to come and tell her himself, but a little notice would have been nice. Still, Lex did what Lex wanted. He came first (often in the bedroom too). But Chloe told herself she had no issue with that, she wasn't desperately in love with him, she'd told herself that for a while. Maybe her allegiance to him was similar to the Stockholm syndrome. But loving a man like Lex was one sided, you only ever got hurt.

"Miss Sullivan?" Darren pulled her from her thoughts and she set aside the laptop. Taking out some frustration on the mats would be good for her.

"I'll be down in a few minutes. Thank you." He nodded curtly and left her in her room. She changed into some comfier clothes for sparring and led her feet down the halls to the exercise room.

Fighting was as much a Luthor trademark as deceit and fear, and she'd been forced into it since she signed her soul away to Lionel. He'd thrown her a sword and told her if she could so much as leave a scratch on him after 20 minutes he'd drop all agreement and she'd be free to do as she wished. She'd fought with all her strength and cunning yet after a painful 17 minutes she'd been unable to take anymore and was the only one out of them to be covered in scars. No mercy was taken upon her inexperienced body. Mercy was for the week. Every Friday she'd been given a fencing sword and beaten in the name of sport and skill. '_You'll never walk if you can't find the strength to stand_' he used to tell her. He'd tease her with freedom, laying it on the table if she could beat him in his game of the week. She never did. She always crawled back to her room beaten and bruised to be doctored silently by the other maids in the slave's quarter. Lionel was brutal, but he had given her a skin far thicker than she'd thought possible.

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><p>"Good." Darren complimented again, feeding her another series of moves and watching her follow them in pattern against his blocks. "Now again." Chloe pushed back the stray pieces of hair yet to grow to a length held by a bobble and repeated the sequence. "Good. Now go again, slower this time, and watch the blocking pattern. You'll be doing it next." Chloe followed his lead, feeling a few drops of sweat roll down her spine. They swapped roles of attacker and defender and Darren ran scenarios of self-defence and capture with her. They fought across the floor for a while, burning off her anger and excess energy. They were both sweaty messes when they drew a conclusion to the activities.<p>

Chloe's head whipped around suddenly at the sound of clapping, her fists instantly forming. It wasn't just the fact her tunnel vision had let him sneak up on her, it was the reminder of Lionel's old habits to watch her while she got beat by his guards. But this was no bored father. This time it was Lex who appraised her movements. Forcing her fists to relax she took the steps to the bottled water and tried not to show her annoyance at his presence.

"Very good. I see you'll be giving the men a run for their money." Chloe grinned and brushed her hair from her forehead again. Another old habit was to lose the guards Lionel had assigned her whenever she went out. It was her favourite hobby, and the best part was that as long as she got back before them** she** wasn't the one in trouble.

Lex nodded swiftly and Darren disappeared from sight. With that action he shucked his suit jacket and took off the tie. Chloe couldn't help but smile.

"Want a go Lex?" she purred teasingly.

"I do owe you." he agreed and toed off the shoes. "What was it? Twice that you called me Alex?" Her smile grew more pronounced and she re-tied her hair after setting down the bottled water again.

"I don't remember, _Alex_. I still don't see why you don't like your name, _Alex_." she teased.

"Are you sure you want to keep going?"

"Didn't realise it bothered you, _Alex_." she spoke playfully and Lex rolled up his cuffs past his elbows as he met her stance opposite.

"Queen's security found the bug in the feed today." he started, letting her take the first motions while be blocked and dodged.

"I never said they wouldn't." He sprung his attack, taking her arm as she made to punch and used it to push her to the floor and had it pinned behind her back. She wriggled until he let her back up. 1 for Lex. If her presumption was correct she'd be pinned another 4 times. 1 for each Alex she'd called. She found her footing again and let him take point, using his force against him. It made him sweat and do all the work while she used it against him. "It's untraceable, you shouldn't worry." she added as she broke his attempt to hold her. Lex may have been taught by a retired navy seal but at least Chloe knew his style and personality of fighting. He liked things fast and furious when he was face to face without time to sit out and plot. He was ruled by his emotions. Taking an opening she jabbed her fist toward his stomach, he took it with his caged palm and slipped back to pull her to the ground again. She found herself pinned and unmoveable. 2 for Lex.

"I didn't say I was worried." he corrected her and stood himself up, offering her a hand as well. "I want a bug in his system. On his phone. In his office. Wherever he goes."

"Then you best get your experts to plant some then. It doesn't happen by magic." she replied and stepped into a familiar sequence with him. But the tables turned again and she was down. 3 for Lex. She hated the Luthors. Against anyone else she could consider herself a good fighter. But the masters who taught her would always remain superior. Lex was a fighter by nature and nurture, she had little chance of beating him physically.

"You'll be planting them." he stated without a change in tone. She coughed a laugh and dropped her fists.

"Really?" She rushed a hand through the loose locks and stepped into the fight again, flying punches and forcing him backward. He blocked, dodged and tricked, but she kept cautiously aware of counter movements and managed to remain upright. "What exactly do you expect me to do Lex? I can't walk into a business like Queen Industries, flash a smile and drop a device." she argued and had his back close to the wall, but he slipped her win from her hands before it happened and with a few quick motions he had her in the sleeper hold but without the pressure necessary to black the opponent out. She kicked back but quickly resigned to her failure again. 4 for Lex.

"You won't walk." he replied calmly and with her tapping fingers he released her from the hold.

"I'm not breaking into Queen Industries!" she hissed and stepped from his grasp to the other side of the mats.

"Did I say you were?" he countered. A breath of frustration left her and her hand landed on her hip.

"Fine, what is your fantastic plan, _oh great one_?" she mocked. His expression said he wasn't impressed.

"His head of security opens the doors at 5am. He happens to like petite dark haired women and has recently suffered a break up." She didn't question how Lex knew this. "I'm sure if you had an accident on your way to work as he was opening he'd come to your rescue and escort you past the doors for first aid."

"You want me to trick my way into Queen Industries?" she checked. Lex shrugged and they stepped forward again. Lex met her easily as she tried not be ruled by anger, but failed and was swiftly pinned under his weight, his face over hers. 5 for Lex. She let out a heavy sigh, her hands locked by his and hair across her face. "How do you know this will work?" Lex just smiled and took his hand to brush the unruly locks from her vision.

"Trust me Chloe. He'll let you in. The rest is up to you." His lips pressed quick to hers and he pushed up from the floor, offering her a hand again. She accepted, feeling tired and annoyed.

"And how do you expect me to get all the way up to Queen's office?" she challenged.

"You'll think of something." He left the mechanics up to her. Just a puppet to the Luthors.

Lex's finger unrolled the sleeves and he stepped back from her finished with his dealings.

"Fine." she huffed. "In that case, you'll be taking me out for Chocolate cake, coffee and a new disguise." He'd thrown out her old one she kept in her bag.

"There are two new securities that need breaking in. Care to do the honours?" he asked, still with his back turned. She could read the honesty in that statement. He couldn't be bothered to go himself. Chloe didn't mind the brush off, she expected it. It would have been nice though, she couldn't remember the last time she spent time with anyone where it wasn't business.

"I'll take a shower and be right back down." she informed him and padded barefoot through the empty halls of the Luthor kingdom at her own slow pace.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>I know that was a very inactive chapter for some of you. But give me until chapter three at the very least before you dismiss me.<p>

Any opinions on this and you can drop me a review, even just a smiley face will be lovely. If you've got any worries about where i'm going, anything you want cleared up then you can feel free to message me at ANY time and i'll try to get back to you asap. I'm pretty friendly, and i'll even reply if it's just for a chat. I can't promise i'll know when the next chapter will be going up, but you can drop me a message to see how i'm doing progress-wise.

Thanks.

Xx


	3. Prey

Oh, wow. I really enjoyed reading the reviews. They've been amazing, and really picked me up boring uni work. So, a HUGE thank you for that.

Please feel free to message/review with any problems or issues you have, I will never take them as criticism, I appreciate any help or comments. I accept anonymous reviews as well, so if you don't want to leave your name I can address an issue in this little top bit of the next chapter for you.

Also, I know you want to know the deal with Chloe's past and the association to Lionel, but Chloe's considering not telling you until she has to tell Oliver... and that may be a while away.

I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Oh! This is the first appearance of GA, hold onto your leather fan club panties ladies, there's attitude fired his way.

Xx

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><p><span>Chapter Three; Prey.<span>

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><p>'<em>Every predator is somebody else's prey' <em>–Lionel Luthor. (Season 3, Episode Exile)

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><p>Lex gave her free pick over his collection of cars; the keys welcome to whatever tickled her fancy. Her fingers ran smooth over the glossy paintwork of an original classic car and she instantly dismissed it. The inner magpie might say to go to the shiny, but Lex had other toys that were so much more fun, and just as shimmering. Personalised license plates passed her by; Lex I to Lex IV and Lex X1, Lx Lthr, Lex 1. He even dared an 'Alex 1', thought it was probably a gift from his father. Chloe stopped suddenly, her eyes finding the one she felt the pull toward.<p>

Sure, she _could_ have gone in a limo, maybe an unmarked car or even called a taxi. But out of the 20+ cars Lex had personalised this one just called. Top down, sleek silver Porsche begging for someone to hit the gas and hit it hard. Lex knew how to drive it, but she doubted he'd treat it like she would. She wouldn't worry about the centimetre brush of the curb along the wheel rims and she'd push it as hard as such a machine deserved. If cars had personalities, this one would scream sexy, handsome and not afraid to show it. It had cheek, it had a rude streak if you pressed to wrong buttons but it would take care of you if you promised the same. Chloe fished the keys from Lex's little vault and settled herself quickly into the leather, her fingers resisting the urges to stroke the surfaces. Luxury.

She threw the car into first gear and hit the gas speeding out of the door yet to fully open. At the rip of the engine the two security threw themselves into the heavy arms dealer style car and hit the road, trying to follow the sprite they were assigned to. Lex had given them one order and one order only; to never let her out of their sights. If anything happened to her… well, the threat wasn't finished, but the implication was clear that they wouldn't be as happily alive as they were currently. With the fear of god shoved in them they cursed at the slow opening doors as she got further from their sights.

A bad night to be the ones Chloe intended to lose.

Chloe brushed the hair from her eyes as she walked happily down the streets of metropolis. She'd lost her protection detail from the first moment, she honestly had no idea where they were. Probably circling the block in a panic, she thought giddily and added a single skip to her walk. She spent a long term learning to lose the eye in the city she was assigned, she considered it a talent. These guards were exceptionally useless though. No challenge at all. Now if she had Darren following her… then that might pose a challenge worthy of her skills. Oddly, Lionel had always had good security, and like Lex he'd used her skills to determine whether his security was up to scratch or not. The only difference was that Lex found it comical… Lionel did not.

Smiling privately to herself she slipped down the alley behind the bakery looking for a detour from the main roads and a shortcut to Miss Locks; _'The beauty store for all your hair needs'_. They had this amazing shampoo that smelled like you'd stuck your head into a rainforest filled with blooms of all seasons. It stayed with you as well, locked in your hair all day. Beautiful. But it was damn expensive. Then again, it was Lex's treat.

Laughing, she took the shortcut. Instead of luxury, she found trouble.

"Give us ya purse Lady. No-one gunna get hurt." Thug one demanded, a gun pointed toward her. She could have groaned, she was not up for this tonight.

Maybe she could just scoop past and owe them one.

Yeah… she doubted it too.

"Jewellery too." Thug two stepped out from behind her, a knife in hand. Quickly she evaluated it: serrated blade, for maximum damage. Good choice of weapon. She could deal with these two easily. But of course, things were _always _better in three's and this trio became complete as thug three stepped from the left, a skinny thing waving the knife with a virginal shake. His first mugging? They were probably aspiring thieves seeking to run the town. She could admire the formation, but they were inexperienced and their prey was lying in wait to become a predator.

Chloe herself had probably done more illegal activities than all three of them combined, but clearly her face wasn't given the immunity amongst the many uprising assholes of Metropolis's alleys.

She'd been away too long.

"Nice and slow. Get on the floor Lady." She rolled her eyes. She despised being called 'Lady' almost as much as Lex hated being called 'Alex'. He hated it because Alex was a small child that was beat on continuously through his education. She hated it because Lady was a cartoon dog from a Disney film that didn't have any major problems in life and was 100% unrealistic. Plus, she wasn't likely to roll over and ask for a belly rub anytime soon.

With a bored sigh barely contained, she lifted her hands to the air, the bag at the end of her fingers. All she needed was the gun holder to come forward and she could have it out of his hands before he could say 'woof'. As long as their long distance weaponry was gone the tables would severely turn.

"Set it on floor." Thug two spat, motioning with a jerk of his knife. The motion was much like a junkie on the down side of a trip. This might not end so well if she was dealing with jonesing junkies. She needed that gun gone, and she needed it gone now.

"How do I know you won't shoot me?" The innocent act blinded them for a second. Her eyes turned shy and scared, focusing on the gun holder who wasn't stupid enough to leave the safety on.

"Alright pet. We'll take this slow. What sparkles you got on?" Jewellery, she presumed he meant. Sometimes criminals just needed a better education to convey meaning.

"But the watch was a present." she told them, playing naïve so well she should be holding an Oscar.

"Listen Barbie," She resisted the urge to grind her teeth at the name. "Take off the watch and whatever else you got. Then put them on the floor."

"Won't hurt you if you're good sunshine." _Sunshine_? Why not just get it over with and stab her now, it would be less painful than these nicknames.

"It'll get muddy." she protested like the innocent, feeble female she played.

"You're not getting this are ya? Look, we got the knives, we call the shots." Though not a single one had tried to get any closer and gut her yet. Maybe it was just for show and they had no intention of using them… "Take off the fucking watch and your earrings. Put 'em on the floor with your bag. Understand now bitch?" Then again, with the way he was waving the knife around she might end up missing limbs whether he intended to or not.

"-That's no way to speak to a lady."

The deep gruff voice had all four heads turn to the rooftops left of them. Chloe didn't waste time being surprised, she seized the opportunity and ran the gunman, taking the gun and using it as a club, striking him over the hooded head. The saviour dressed in green leather pinned Thug Three to the wall with a solidly shot arrow and zip lined to introduce him to his fist. Leather fetish turned back to give the second welcome to the other knife wielder but Chloe was ahead of him, her fist slammed with full force into his jaw. They both watched as he stumbled backwards and hit the wall to slump into a human heap on the ground. He wasn't even trying to get back up. She turned back to fight the leather clad man only instead found him tying up numbers one and three with zip ties. Difficult to break free of without assistance or freely breakable wrists; she approved. He knew what he was doing.

Roaming eyes assessed him as she realising she was stood before her target. This was the Green Arrow. This was the one causing all the mess for Lex. Would she be unmasking him tonight? It seemed _far_ too easy if she was.

Naturally, she made other observations to analyse later. One; gadgets. Lots. Stolen? Provided by a rich benefactor in on his gig? Before she could explore all possibilities she was stirred by a noise behind her, only to find junkie Thug Two wasn't quite as disabled as she thought, the knife was back in his hand under a death grip and he barrelled toward her. Narrowly, she missed a punctured lung and the blade grazed her arm. It was just a scrape, not shallow enough to go unnoticed or ignored for long, but with all the adrenaline playing rollercoasters in her arteries she barely felt it throbbing. Her revenge drive sparked her to lay knuckles to soft tissue, but before it could properly kickstart the smell of leather brushed her nose and her assailant was held against the wall by his throat, the cheap scruffy trainers dangled a little off the ground. Her eyes followed from his throat along the muscular arm to the green and black armour of her target.

"Are you alright?" The question threw her for a second, not use to the deep voice that spoke. Her hand felt to her upper arm across the cut, stopping the flow of warm liquid blood.

"Fine." she replied feeling a little too numb to inject the venom she desired.

Observation two; voice distorter. It had to be, no man's voice was naturally that deep. She made the mental note to research seller and brand makes. Look up records of purchase to ones that could match. There was nothing over his lips though, no mask, no recorder. If she stepped forward again, she could make out the stubble across the strong jawline. No, this was close enough, she berated herself.

"You're cut." he noted, sparkling a violent anger in her blood which she opened the floodgates to in order to ease the numbness and what she presumed was shock.

"I'm fine." she repeated, letting the hate seep through this time. The thug's head bashed against the wall with a sharp motion and Jolly Green let him drop unconscious to the ground. This time he was definitely out of the game.

"You handled yourself well back there. There's no shame in taking a hit." Her jaw physically dropped till she remembered herself and she snapped it back up a second later. Shame? He thought she was ashamed? "It happens to the best of use." he spoke again, in a comforting tone while reaching for her wound. She snapped back from forming her multiple insults and dodged his grasp, stepping away quick.

"I suppose you'd tie yourself to the group of the best." she sneered.

"I did save your life." he countered, tilting his head slightly.

"Bullshit!" she hissed and turned on her heels. A bad move with that much tension in your body though. The heel cracked clean, slicing the air and she tumbled over.

Her meeting with the concrete was suddenly stopped. Some majorly attractive biceps had wrapped around her and were holding her inches from the floor, then jolted her back upright, pressed close to his warmth.

"I'm not counting, but that was twice. You have a habit of getting in trouble." Yes, it was true, but she made a living from it.

"I'm not the only one." she muttered under her breath and pushed her way from his muscle cage and out of his cradled arms. The heel was completely snapped off; there would be no walking on it. Fuck!

"Can I offer you a ride?"

She laughed.

"Please." she sneered. "You're not better than these thugs. The only difference is that they aren't as open about their fetishes like you are, and they don't bother charming their victims before mauling them. You're a higher class of criminal."

"I'm a criminal?" he chuckled. "I happen to remember saving your life a few minutes ago." he replied. "Twice."

"My life was in no danger." she retorted and turned again, only to curse when she recalled the broken heel. Fuck!

"Really? The blood down your arm says differently." He reached out again and she dodged. The action set her back on the broken heel and she almost landed flat on her ass. Again. This time his hand had wrapped around hers and he pulled her to his chest to counterbalance the fall. "That's three times." he spoke cheerfully.

She peered up to the shadowed face seeing nothing of use, her hands could feel the muscles under the leather and her heart did the weirdest thing inside her chest. She could feel the deathly sting of butterfly nausea swimming in her stomach. She must be ill, she concluded.

"Try for another and I'll sue you for harassment." she warned, stepped back slowly from his arms.

"_Harassment_? That's rich. I just saved your life." he protested.

"And now look. You won't go away. Clearly you're an escaped mental patient with a need for company so much so that you pretend to be a saviour for a few minutes of chat and thanks." His arms crossed across his chest, amused. His mouth opened to reply, but she cut him off, a finger poking to his chest. "Listen here Leather Man. Next time you see me about to die. Leave me be!" She stepped away, fully aware of the heel and leaned against the wall for support while she fished for her phone in her bag. Arrow tilted his head, his eyes following her motion.

"Are you some sort of escaped suicidal patient on the run? I can get you some help."

"Oh my god! Just piss off already would you!" she hissed, her hand rummaging through the many pockets she used to adore prior to that moment. Her brain had shut down the fact she was meant to be researching him and catching him, now she was more focuses on nursing her wounded pride, and in addition; the wounded arm as well.

"Do you need a ride home?" he continued to ask.

"No. I need you to go away. Scatter! Shoo!" She motioned with her free hand, giving in on the phone idea. The security would be here soon and call her the car back.

"Shoo? I'm demoted to a dog now?" he proceeded to question her. A smile still on his lips.

"_Please_, you never exceeded that."

"Lost something?" he asked, eyeing the bag. Why would he not go away?

"Only the last few moments of my sanity…" she breathed in despair.

"What's your name?"

"What's yours?" she countered. He chuckled.

"At least give me something to call you."

"Fine. You can call me Mary, because you caught me feeling all holy and I'm not going to kill you."

"Mary was also a virgin." Her chin lifted, daring him to continue. "I can change that for you if you want." Her violent retort and hand slaps were cut off by a car screeching next to the alley. Darren stepped out, gun drawn. "Until next time Mary. Stay out of trouble." he spoke. "You should get that arm looked at." Then he was running out the other end of the alley. She couldn't even let out a breath before Darren was before her. He stood protective in front of her, searching the alley with gun in hand before turning back to her.

"Are you alright Miss?" She just nodded and rested a hand on his shoulder for support. Why hadn't Arrow tried to take her bag himself? Maybe he only took jewellery. Her hand fluttered to her neck then hands. Everything was still in place. Maybe he missed his window of opportunity. "You're bleeding. What happened?" The gun was by his side, still on alert. His other hand looped under her keeping her upright.

"I need bandages and some new shoes." she stated, focusing on the present. Darren just nodded, wrapping both arms under her and taking her back to the car before speeding back to Lex.

She wasn't allowed in hospitals for a while since the records would require names. The FBI check records quite regularly. Besides, it wasn't too severe. A little tape would sort it out. A scarf around her arm would cover the bandage and no-one would be any wiser about the altercation.

Lex, however, threw a little more of a fuss.

"How could you let this happen? Do you understand what _**protection**_ actually entitles? It means things like this," He shot his arm out behind him to Chloe as she sat on the kitchen counter, as Darren cleaned out her wound. "-Don't happen. I told you not to let her out of your sights. I told you keep her safe. You failed me."

"Mr Luthor, you have my deepest apologies. I di-"

"I don't care for either of your apologies." Chloe winced in the background as Darren wiped it over with antiseptic cream. "Apologies don't re-stitch wounds. You're lucky I'm only suspending you from-"

"Lex!" Chloe barked out his name and the anger froze as he turned back to her. "I told you it wasn't their fault. They did nothing wrong. You know how well I can shake your eyes in the city. I wanted peace and quiet and went to find it. Besides it was Arrow's fault this happened." Lex's eyes bulged. He stepped toward her, his macho pose not lost in the motion.

"He did this to you?"

"Not directly, but it was his fault." Lex sighed heavily. "Honestly Lex, give them another chance."

"There's no excuse Miss." One started.

"We shouldn't have let you out of our sights." The other agreed.

"I'll deal with you two later." Lex hissed dismissing them.

"Don't fire them Lex." she pleaded softly as the door slotted shut.

"Don't test me Chloe." Chloe sat back, letting Darren smooth his fingers over the tape above and below the cut, holding the bandage in place. "You're lucky those two idiots had the brain power between them to call Darren when they lost you." Darren smiled shyly. She was wondering what he was doing there. Darren stepped back and nodded to Lex silently. "Teach your boys better." he hissed to Darren.

"Of course Sir. They will be dealt with."

"If I hear anything bad about them again, their names will be slandered across the entire country. They won't even be able to get a job as a gas attendant."

"Sir." Darren bowed his head to Lex and nodded curtly to Chloe. She smiled back at him with thanks. He excused himself and Lex helped her down off the counter, taking her back to her room.

"Are you well enough to be ready for half 3 tomorrow?" he asked as they entered. Always Lex, with his mind on business. She nodded.

"I didn't get everything I needed, but Darren says he'll pick it up." Lex nodded and left her room. She sighed and winced, hearing his anger in the calm loud words of domination as he summoned back the guards. A calm angry Lex was always worse, it meant he was already struggling with his anger and had to force himself to be calm in order to talk to you otherwise he would just kill you.

Chloe dressed silently, feeling guiltier with every verbal lashing. She settled into bed with the laptop on her knee.

Darren came in after Lex had finished his yelling.

He asked how she was, dropped off her requirements for tomorrow and left back to his pregnant wife. They were hopelessly in love, he updated her photo in his wallet every week as she grew bigger. It was only her fourth month but he was over the moon behind that work face. He'd painted the nursery, bought all manner of supplies and was quite possibly more into it than even she was. The kid would be showered with so much love. Chloe smiled, somehow finding comfort in the fact that some women were lucky enough to be adored that much.

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><p>3am came far too quickly. She considered rolling over, ignoring the alarm and faking death. She considered it so strongly she even started her roll, but as soon as she put weight on her bandaged arm she was wide awake, the entire idea of sleep seeming absurd. She dressed through yawns, tied her hair in a bun, her loose locks tied with grips and the wig securely fastened. She added the dash of make-up to compliment the new shade of hair, a little colour on her lips to entice a kiss-able seduction and topped herself off with a light jacket covering the bandage.<p>

She met Lex in his living area, a tray of electronic bugs for her and a single inadequate cup of coffee. She felt herself melt at the first taste. No sooner than she'd drain the cup she found herself tumbled into the back of a car, fixing the bugs in her pocket while her mind tried to catch up. She wondered if Lex ever found time to sleep, he always seemed busy whenever she was resting and always seemed out on business when she was up and about. She yawned, too tired to think through Lex's complex life and flopped back on the seat.

Everything was arranged; the driver would drop her around the back of Queen Industries and she'd meet him after in a parking lot opposite as to not raise suspicion. Simple enough. Her eyes longingly wished for bed, watching the small trickle of people traffic on the streets. She'd never seen Metropolis so empty. The sun wasn't even up yet. Teenagers hadn't even started to go to bed. What the hell was security even doing here at 4am? It was ridiculous. She stepped from the street car with 10 minutes to waste. She bee lined for the nearest coffee stand and sat on a cold bench on the other side of the street, trying to think of other things that weren't going back to sleep.

Something bugged her though.

Jonas was still on her mind. She put it down to the fact she'd missed her chance with him. It didn't mean it didn't bug her that she was still thinking about him. Damn smooth talker.

She perked right up when she saw her target. A man heavily leaning to the pro wrestler body type, a full head of luscious black hair and a solid square jaw. Chloe stood, pacing herself so she would '_fall_' beside him near the entrance to the million dollar corporation.

As she got closer, he met her eyes, clearly checking her out, this of course was her excuse for '_tripping_' over her own feet. Like a pure gentleman he swooped down to her immediately.

"Are you alright ma'am?" Chloe breathed out and nodded slightly, playing with him.

"I think so… sorry, I was so… I was…ummm…distracted." Her eyes met back with his with that practised spark. "I wasn't watching where I was walking. I feel so stupid." The blush was just another ability she had perfected. He immediately offered her a hand up, smiling when she had no objection to taking it with both of hers. "I'm so embarrassed." she continued to blush.

"Don't be. It happens to all of us. We're only human."

"Thanks. I- oh owww. Oh that hurts." She would have been back on the floor, clutching her ankle, had he not swooped to stabilise her.

"I think you've sprained it."

"No. I can't. My boss is going to kill me."

"Com'on. We'll get some ice on it and you can call your boss. You won't be walking on that anytime soon."

"Oh, no I don't want to put you ou- oh god." Chloe honestly squeaked as his arms slid under her, lifting her from her feet and carrying her bridal style through the doors to Queen Industries. Wow, can someone say muscles; she could feel them under her body, hugging her close to his chest.

"It's a good thing you fell here and nowhere else." he told her, passing through the security barriers with a swipe of his card.

"You work here?" she played coy and it won her big points.

"Yeah… I'm ummm… sort of head of security." he bragged shyly.

"The head of security. Wow. Colour me impressed." He chuckled a little embarrassedly, and opened the door to the security main frame, settling her into a chair beside the monitors.

"I'll go get you an icepack. They're just next door. You'll be alright here?"

"I suppose. Hurry back." she whispered, tickling his cheeks with another blush. As the door closed she whisked her fingers over the controls, watching with a spare eye as he walked to the next door, doing a little success dance as he did. She laughed and looped the security feed to an empty corridor. It wasn't hard with such a simple system. Big companies don't bother with extreme security on this part, mainly because there's no chance anyone could get through to here without being stopped and checked, that and there's always some burly guard sitting in the seat to stop them.

She was delicately prodding her ankle when he came back. "Is it supposed to hurt?" she asked innocently. "I've never had a sprained ankle before." He knelt before her, angling the ice-pack over the skin she had rubbed to make red.

"Can't say there much fun. I know when-" Her knee snapped up, knocking him upside his jaw. She whispered an apology and pulled the sedative from her jacket, stabbing in his neck and making sure this one stayed down.

With the feed looped she stole his security pass, hoping they didn't want finger prints and scurried down the corridors. She made it to the elevator unhindered, then over to the main office of the building that belonged to Oliver Queen. Thank you Lex for directions. She slid the pass into the system and watched the doors unlock for her. Grinning she made her way to the phone adding a bug to the receiver. Another under his desk. Another tiny camera behind some dusty books peering with the best angle to his computer screen. With such little time she had no option of cracking his password and planting a virus or bug, so Lex would have to be happy with this.

The office plant in the corner got another little bug craftily hidden between the healthiest of leaves. Another on the couch. Finally the entire office was covered. She left the desk of the Billionaire and scurried back out without a single problem. The security guard was still dozing as she so desperately craved. She reset the video feed to set everything back to normal. His pass went back in his pocket and she slipped from the back exit away from the camera's eyes.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest as she skipped back across the street sliding back into the car and being driven back to Lex. Mission Impossible took a mere 25 minutes of her morning and now she wanted to go back to sleep.

Not a possibility. Lex wanted the security feed up and all the devices configured. After that he wanted a run-down of what had happened, then she was sat before his computer with a coffee to her left and a Billionaire to her right while she put everything she could think of over multitudes of different files for protection. Finally he got a phone call and left her alone to finish.

Just as she was fixing some extra fancy bits to his encrypted files Lex came back with a happier mood, almost bouncing in his shoes… if he wasn't too manly to do that.

"We'll finish later." he announced. "You deserve a break for all the good work you've done."

"I do?" That was surprising… Lex wasn't accustomed to giving rewards. His hand came from behind his back, a small silver rectangle box in his hand. "You found an explosive at the front door and want to mail it to Oliver Queen?" she asked comically. He grinned at her imagination and took her hands from the computer keyboard, leading her from his living area and along the corridors. "You're not happy with my work and are leading me to the slaughter?" she continued to guess. He actually laughed at that one. "Lex… I'm going to need some explanation." She dutifully followed him down corridors she used to loathe and stopped before a door. He spun her back to the wall, the present placed in her hands.

"I understand you learnt a lot of things from my father, yes?" Her eyes narrowed at the mention of her tormentor. Lex's hand reached up to smooth the worry lines across her forehead.

"Where are you going with this?" He smiled, it reaching his eyes and almost vibrating the baby blue that shone in them.

"I recalled a knack for painting." Chloe's expression forced a change, there was a knack, but not for the reason of enjoyment.

"Lex…"

"Open the present." Sceptically, and still wary of bomb wires, she lifted the lid. She almost dropped the box in glee.

"You found my iPod!" The majority of her belongings were still in a cramped room in Spain, the only one she missed was the silver iPod tucked between bra's.

"Unfortunately no. It seems you little hut had been seized by the police. But I know how much you love your music, and I figured I'd give you some room of your own."

"Lex I already have an entire empty wing. I don't need anoth-" He pushed open the double doors to an empty spacious room, a painting easel sat in the open balcony overlooking the gardens. "Wow." she breathed.

"You'll be staying here for a good while Chloe. I want you to be comfortable. You may use this room however you desire. My library is open to you and if you require anything else I will be happy to provide."

"Lex, I-" But there was no thanks for this. And she knew deep down his reasoning. A busy woman is far less annoying than one trapped inside a mansion she hated for months on end. That wasn't just her scepticism, that was Luthor tactical fact. Lionel had done the same with his wife while she was still alive.

In truth though, she only painted because it meant time away from Lionel. But the iPod would keep her entertained. Lex accepted her kiss in thanks and left her soon after, proving her point. Her face fell as he closed the doors behind her. She sank down to the floor feeling trapped yet again. Her identities were gone, she was no-one again. She couldn't go out for fear of being caught, she was locked here. She had nothing she wanted from life, and could get nothing. Her purpose was stolen, her future misted and she spend her time keeping out of Lex's way trying to entertain herself with activities she couldn't care less about. Really, had anything changed since Lionel had locked her away?

Her bare feet padded across the shiny floor, her fingers running the bristles of the many brushes. But she wasn't in the mood to paint, didn't care to dance, didn't want anything but her freedom. Maybe if she unmasked Mr 'I Heart Leather', she'd be free from Lex and could settle down on some remote island that cared nothing for her past. Maybe she could finally find a man who could hold her interest. Right now, the only man holding her attention was Green Arrow. He'd be unmasked and captured soon, she'd see to that herself.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>So, even without knowing it Chloe has her attentions of Oliver. It's a match made in heaven :D<p>

More GA/Chloe next chapter.

Xx


	4. Fights

First, before I do anything else, please let me apologise for being a bad author. Not only did this chapter sit half done for a month, but I have seriously been slacking on replying to reviews and messages. I am so sorry.

But here it is. See, i finished it. :D

Also, it's obviously important to thank everyone that has reviewed so far, i do adore you SO very much, and I shall wish you all a happy xmas and a shiny new year filled with everything you wanted from life. But, if that isn't going to happen for you pessimists, please feel free to accept an invisible none existant chocolate supreme dessert created by your imagination. I hear they are super yummy :D

Alright, enough from me. Please enjoy.

(I'll address commented issues at the bottom.) Xx

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><p><span>Chapter Four; Fights<span>

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><p>'<em>Shouldn't wound what you can't kill'<em> – Lex Luthor (Season 4, Episode Crusade)

* * *

><p>Chloe yawned, playing with her newly bandaged arm after her shower as she waited for the internet page to load. It was being slow tonight, really annoying her. There was this article about the jewellery Jolly Green had stolen and as boring as it was reading about posh people's gem's, she had promised herself to know everything and anything about the case.<p>

She had left Lex an hour ago watching Oliver Queen leave his office on his big brother camera. In that reasoning, she was dressed in something that showed that little bit more and was suited for needing that little bit less. Soft green in colour, lace in material. She found it in her dresser, so clearly he would like it. She supposed wearing it would give Lex that extra 'thank you' for the iPod, which was just finishing syncing with her ever loved laptop. Smiling, she unplugged and shuffled from the bed. 11:12pm. Lex should be ready for bedroom activities by now. There was no way he could work that late when he'd woken so early.

Two dressing gowns hung in her dresser. One thick white and fluffy with an attached hood for the extra chilly winter night, the other black, see-through and without a tie in sight. She put her hands over the latter, with full intention of showing Lex his purchases up close. As her hand hit the silk material the power went out, the lights failed, darkening the room except for the dull glow from her laptop of the still loading page on the stolen gems.

Power cut, she presumed, but a sickening feeling sunk deep in her gut when her ears suddenly weren't filled with Lex's curses and shouts of ordering people to get it fixed. Sure, there weren't a lot of people around at night, but that wouldn't stop Lex's shouting. Sensing a dangerously sharp spike in her heart rate she tugged on the fluffier of dressing gowns, pulling the tie tight around her, and flipping her laptop to the security screens. The lights may be off, but the cameras were still showing. Their choice of film was not to her tastes; the silhouette of a man stood tall and proud with Lex at gun point.

Her pulse kicked and automatically her hand slipped under the desk, finding the handgun Lex had taught her to fire a few years ago. Lex had become more protective after he took her agreement from Lionel. Where Lionel had wanted the playing ground dominated by his strength, he taught no guns, no knives, no weapons at all. Nothing that could give her an upper hand. Lex had corrected that with speed.

Sure, pyjamas would have been better chosen for a brawl but she hadn't dressed with destruction in mind, the dressing gown and hidden lingerie would have to do.

With the gun by her side, she slithered silently from her door, and speed tiptoed across the top floor, taking the stairs silently and coming face to face with the door to Lex's area. She pressed her ears closer, but there was nothing to hear. Would Lex be dead?

She crept closer, the gun held tight; fingers squeezing; ready to fire; the safety off. Her free hand touched the door handle, ever thankful for the silent hinges and she stepped in.

Lex lay unconscious on the floor.

The Green Arrow was rummaging through Lex's files, computer and paper, a bright blue flash drive downloading content with every second.

His back was to her, and that was a mistake.

"Stop what you're doing and drop the bow!" she ordered from across the room, her voice edged with raw confidence and success. Tonight would be the night, her brain said. The leather clad form tensed. "Drop them to the floor," she repeated and the arrows clattered down, the crossbow following. "Turn around slowly." The green giant turned, but with him came a flirty smirk.

"Nice to see you again Mary. How's the arm?"

"Shut up!" she hissed. Her eyes made a quick run of his body. "Take off the other weapons."

"Would if I had any." he replied cockily.

"Then the knife at your calf is just for decoration?"

"I like to look pretty." he chuckled back, the voice changed by the distorter to sound deeper and darker, stirring something in her blood she couldn't understand.

"Floor!" she commanded. He didn't comply. She walked forward, her arms no longer prey to shakes of confidence, the gun was trained on him. She wouldn't miss.

"Cute outfit." he noted, nodding to the dressing gown. If only he saw underneath, _cute_ would be wiped clean from his mind. "Did I disturb your sleep?"

"Keep talking. I can shoot you right now. I really don't care. Leg, head or groin is your choice, but I suggest you don't test me." she hissed back, trying to sort out her emotions of whatever she was feeling. Dare she say excitement?

"Why are you staying with Lex?" he shot a curve ball at her, no care for the gun pointed at his chest.

"Because he makes a mean fruit flan." she deadpanned and kneeled slowly, the gun and eyes still on him as she slid her hand up his calf, ignoring the muscular firmness. Her hand grasped the knife and she threw it away, sliding it across the floor from both of them.

"And the real reason?" he breathed. She stood back up, taking a step back, retaining the giggle that dared to breathe free.

"Who says that's not the real reason?"

"Lex can't cook more than trouble." he stated. Clearly he knew Lex on a more personal level. Maybe an old enemy. That was a list she didn't care to compile.

"Says the man stealing from him." she countered.

"Borrowing." he corrected with a chuckle. "I'll bring it back."

"What exactly do you plan to _borrow_? Because we're fresh out of sugar."

"I don't know… you're still here." Her grin was lost at his comment; not finding the shades much use in concealing the eye fuck.

"Seriously Leather Fetish. I'm not interested in the criminal type."

"Yet you're living with Lex." he offered as she took a step toward the computer, the gun still locked on him. He moved with her, keeping them opposite each other in equal pacing.

"What can I say?" she breathed. "The bald thing makes me all gooey on the inside."

"Really? It just freaks me out." She took another step, his head dropping slightly, no doubt his eyes on the freshly shaven bare leg sticking from the parting in her dressing gown. She rocked back and it covered herself again.

"Listen." she hissed, already fed up with the buzz in her brain and blood from him. "We're not social buddies. I **will** shoot you."

"No. You won't." She rose an eyebrow, the grip on the gun tightening, almost ready to shoot to prove him wrong. "You would have done it already." he summarised logically.

"Sure you want to be taunting me like that?"

"Yeah. I'll take my chances." She shook her head minutely, time to get back on track.

"What did you do to Lex?"

"He's just unconscious. He'll be coming around soon. Speaking of… I'm on a timer Goldilocks. If you wouldn't mind giving me a few seconds to finish what I came to do." She lowered the gun slightly, aimed directly at his manhood. Her daring grin rose up, just begging him to try her. That froze him in his place.

"You aren't doing anything, but what I say. Now take off the hood and glasses."

"It's really only our second date. I usually like to work with a little more time before I start shedding clothes." he replied comically, the buzz of laughter in the words.

"Yes, well. I don't. Off. Now."

"Demanding. I like it. I bet you're a real tiger in the bedroom." he quipped.

"Too bad for you, you'll never find out."

"Now I feel disheartened…" He faked sadness, a hand flying to over his heart.

"Why do you wear the distorter?" she asked, changing the subject.

"It makes me sound more manly." he laughed

"And the real reason?" she probed again.

"Who says that's not the real reason?" he fired her words back at her.

"Fine." she breathed. "I suppose it evens out the tights."

"Been checking me out?" His voice said he was impressed. "Can't say I haven't been doing the same." Her teasing smile dropped and the anger flew back full steam.

Emerald Archer took the opportunity to take the gun from her hands. He made quick work of pulling out the cartridge, dropping the bullets and following with the empty useless gun. Chloe ducked left, hoping to pull the other gun from under Lex's desk, if he hadn't already. At the very least she could steal his bow from the floor and turn back the tables. She was stopped by an arm around her waist. She didn't give in, thrashing her body side to side and swaying him with the motion. Her elbow hit into his side but he still kept a hold on her.

"Jesus Blondie. Settle down." She bucked against him, feeling the anger bubble through her body, feeling the tie loosening on her robe, but she didn't care. She wasn't letting this opportunity go.

"Put me down!" she hissed.

"Not quite yet." The cold leather of his gloved hands made to steady her, but found placement settling across her bare stomach and sending pleasing whispers up her spine.

She froze her kicking. "Looks like I disturbed more than just your sleep." he purred in the darkness, a chuckle in his throat.

His arms spun her and she came chest to chest with him. Her jaw was set solid, not giving him anything. Freely his eyes roamed her chest, her cleavage wrapped in green lace in perfect sight for him. "You're even wearing my colour." She brought up her knee, missing her target but breaking his hold to get all of three centimetres away before he had her again. Her breasts were pressing against his solid leather covered chest. His shade covered eyes made no attempt to look elsewhere.

"What are you here for?" she asked, the question laced with as much venom physically possible.

"Your name."

"Rose." she hissed in a lie again, her chest grazing his again with the tempered drag of air.

"Because you smell so divine?" he guessed.

"Because despite how I may look, touch me and you'll regret it." He chuckled at her comment, tightening his hold on her, his smirk telling her how little he regretted the feel of her skin.

"I feel a lot of things princess, but clearly your thorns are cut. Because regret isn't one of them."

"What are you doing here?" she repeated.

"I told you." His finger lifted her chin up. "Borrowing."

Before she could reply, his lips swooped down, stealing hers and sparking a million different feelings through her. Her eyes fluttered closer, her arms stopped fighting. She'd had one night stands before, she'd had long term (sort of) with Lex. But nothing. _**Nothing**_, could compare with the rush she got from kissing this man. Her chest pressed to his was more delightful that anything she'd felt with Lex.

Oh god, **Lex**!

What was she doing?

She snapped her head to the side, her heavy breathing rising her chest against his, her nipples peaked and grazing delightfully against the leather. Oh god! She had feelings for a criminal. In the back of her mind, she heard the light groan of a man behind her. Lex was coming back to. "Sorry Blondie." Her head clicked back in time to meet the full force of a gun butt to her temple. She was lost to darkness.

* * *

><p>Oliver paced the apartment again, Victor had only just taken the flash drive from his hand, and without it he was feeling a little lost. It was one thing to break into someone's home and steal, but an entirely different issue to lay a hand to a woman. It was necessary he told himself again. Lex was waking up, if he didn't get out of there he'd have more trouble than was worth.<p>

"What's up with green bean?" Bart asked, nudging Victor as went to plug in the USB stick. Vic dead eyed the kid and drove the drive home, opening the access port on the computer. As the files came into view he turned, seeing the distant mind and the ingrained habit of pacing slam over his friend.

"Not my turn." Vic replied. Bart flashed his eyes up to Ac who was leaning against the window.

"Don't even ask, I got it last time."

"I'll owe you." Bart pleaded. Ac rose an eyebrow, knowing the kid broke promises more often than he kept them.

"Not. My. Turn." Ac spoke slowly and clearly.

"Vic. Com'on…" But the plea fell to deaf ears. Bart sighed and turned to the pacing archer. Oliver only ever paced when he was stressed about something, or really angry. Despite knowing this, the boys were too curious to let him seethe alone, but the cost of being nosy was to get your head bit off. This time, it was Bart's head up to the block. "Ollie, wh…"

Oliver spun again and stepped up the pacing, completely oblivious to the conversation. What was she doing with Lex? Why was she dressed like **that**? With Lex?

His feet hit harder and he caught the blur of red colouring that was Bart backing away from him. He didn't know why, but it didn't matter. He'd go back and see her, he'd have to. If she was working with Lex… no, she was too good, he could see it in her eyes.

But, her stance, her body language, her defence of Lex… all of these things mounted the pile higher against all hope he had for her. She had to be working with Lex, why else would she be there?

Unless… That outfit wasn't exactly the correct dress for workmates or slumber parties. What if she was _with_ Lex? Romantically.

Why did it even matter to him? Sure, he felt remorse for knocking her unconscious so violently, he could understand why she was on his mind. But why was he ripping apart every second he spent with her. Why was she kissing him like that if she was with Lex? Why did he enjoy it so much? Why did he kiss her in the first place?

Why? That last question he knew the answer to at least. He had to, he simply had to. To know how she tasted, to feel the fire bubbling in her lips. He could feel the pull of her since she stepped in the room with that gun aimed at him. He could have taken it from her at any point, but he was glad he waited, glad he played around with her, glad he's felt the luxury of such a kiss. He ached to touch his fingers to his lips, to feel what had felt her, to check his sanity… was she so much to him already?

What poison did she feed him when they first met?

"We've got an issue." Victor's voice came through in a patch of silence his brain allowed and he found himself back in the room, a worn path familiar to his feet where he'd clearly been pacing. Damn woman.

"What?" Ollie asked, a hand to the back of the computer chair as he inspected the view before him.

"Nice to have you back…" Vic muttered, then spoke normally again. "Encrypted, filled with little bugs. High security. We're dealing with professional grade here. This isn't just Lex."

"Who else would it be? Santa?" Bart supplied, annoyed he'd almost been trampled by Oliver while he was ignoring him.

"Yes Bart. Santa came and encrypted Lex's files." Vic replied, just as annoyed.

"Don't encourage him." Ac reprimanded.

"Don't speak about me like I'm a kid, fish stick." Bart shot back.

"Yeah, well, at least I'm not-"

"Shut it. All of you." Dinah came from the kitchen and ended the boys verbal fighting. With a wash of quiet she turned back on her heels, muttering about the need for more oestrogen.

"You heard her girls." Oliver broke the silence. "Now get me a reason to smile from those files." Nods dropped from all the boys, and the silence brought back the question that had plagued Oliver since he saw her tonight.

_What **was** she doing with Lex?_

* * *

><p>"Chloe?" A voice pierced her black. "Chloe?" She came back to with Lex filling her vision, his hands resting on her head, a cold cloth beneath it. She knocked off his hand, sitting up.<p>

"Ow…" She reached up her hand, her head was throbbing, and according to the red on her fingers, it was still bleeding.

The bastard!

She expressed such a dislike as she shucked off Lex and stood to her feet, ignoring the way the colours wobbled in her vision. She paced between the two guards who were each trying to get her to sit back down. "The bastard knocked me unconscious!" she spat. "He hit me with my own fucking gun!" Lex chuckled and sat back on the couch she had rose from, his eyes watching her rage. "Not only that, but he still got the files." She was more thinking aloud than actually talking to anyone, but it didn't stop the guards flinching in terror as her voice rose with the increasing temper. "Yeah, well good luck to the little fucker to get in them." She heaved out a sigh through clenched teeth. "Bastard!" she repeated. Lex chuckled again, rising and putting his hands on her tense shoulders.

"Language Chloe. Everything's safe, and you're alright, which is all that matters."

"Alright?" she hissed, adding a curse under her breath in Spanish. Lex smiled at her way around swearing, letting her shrug him off and start her pacing again. "I have a gash across my head, a splitting headache and a cut across my arm from that bastard. Everything is not alright. My face is meant to be forgettable. No-one forgets the chic that's been bust up." Another stream of Spanish flew sickly sweet from her lips. "That bastard ruined my career!" she hissed, turning back to Lex. She was vaguely aware she was only half dressed before 3 men, but really, her care was with her anger, not her amount of clothing.

"I've already called my doctor and he'll be over here as soon as possible. I assume you had a chance to plant a tracking software in my files."

Like she'd suddenly been struck by a viciously dark great idea she sped off to fetch her laptop then flew back down, stealing his computer chair and hooking the two computer systems together. Lex had already watched the surveillance video so he knew how it had gone down, every… last… piece. He understood Chloe's anger. But what he didn't understand was why Green Arrow, a.k.a, 'the bastard' as Chloe now insisted upon referring to him, had lifted her unconscious form and settled it on the couch while Lex had been left where he fell. Maybe the bastard had feelings for his woman, feelings more than just in his sex drive… Arrow would soon get his due though, probably more from Chloe than he intended. Next time it would be shoot to kill, no chit chat. She was right that he'd pay… no-one scarred his Chloe. She was his. Those files he could forgive, but he had his assassin one speed dial away for when the location came to him.

Chloe was muttering in Spanish again, then flipped back to English for a few words. "…Thinks he's so smart, stealing with his leather and green and bows." More Spanish, then suddenly. "Who doesn't like guns?" she hissed to herself much to Lex's delight. Maybe he should let Chloe free with a knife on her assailant when he was captured. "He's dead when I find his location. So very dead." she continued to mutter.

"I'll make sure." Lex spoke behind her, making her jump slightly. "Which files did he take?"

"All of them." She smiled triumphantly. Clearly Lex had missed something, she explained when she saw his expression. "There's no way he could have disabled all the trackers in each of those tiny cells by now. Hang on… how long was I out?"

"Around half an hour." She switched to Spanish again for a curse then came back.

"Okay, so assuming he's got above average intelligence he'll have probably worked out there's something else in there, which means some might have been disabled. Even then he could be too busy celebrating not to think to disarm my little surprises." She breathed out a laugh, loosing Lex again.

"Chloe… care to share?"

"Okay, so you know you told me to put in a few extra's to make sure we could track any thief copying the files. Well, me being so superb, I went above and beyond the call of duty. Not only can we activate a trace, but the system they upload them too will be crawling with incurable viruses if they even attempt to delete the tracking software without disabling it first. So with the amount of files and necessary time to wipe them clean, there should be a few million bites loaded with juice for us." Chloe grinned and translated. "Basically, there's no way to read the files, or any files if they try to outsmart us. We've won as long as nothing happens to me within the next hour." she added with a grin.

"I love it when you get smart on me." he praised.

"It's a burden to love me so much isn't it?" She smiled wittily.

"Get me a location and maybe you'll find something to make it worth your while."

"Oh Lex. Being in your presence is more than enough for my reward." she teased and flashed her finger across the keyboard. Her fingertips were tingling from so much contact with the keys at such speed. "Satellite is looking for current location." she updated him. "It'll find us first, then next jump to them." Lex watched as the globe on the screen kept zooming closer and closer. Finally it sat on his mansion. Keys tapped again and it flew back to space. Lex poured himself some bourbon and watched Chloe from the cabinet. His eyebrow rose in interest as her curses flew from English to Spanish then back again, her fingers busy again, hammering like mad. "Whoever he's got working for him knows what he's doing. He's not only re-routing the tracer but he's trying to attack back at our end."

"Can you fix it?" Chloe didn't laugh at his anti-technology terminology, like she normally would. Instead she clenched and unclenched her fingers before letting them fly again.

"I can do more than that. I can piggyback his leads, jump onto a flowing viral and get a location." More tense seconds passed. Chloe was getting agitated, ignorant of the blood slowly trickling down from the cut. Lex held up a hand to stop the advance of the doctor who had arrived and desperately wanted to treat her. He wanted the location before anything else happened. His fingers touched across the mobile in his pocket, ready to dial. "Here we go." she spoke finally. "10 seconds before we find out where these bastards live." Lex made his way to her, his hand on the back of the computer chair. She was dancing in her seat, watching the files fly past and narrow down the grid of search to find her location.

"**Fuck**!" She shot up from the chair, a red alert box on the screen. The progress died.

"Chloe?"

"He unplugged." she hissed. "The bastards gave in and unplugged." It should have been a high that they saw her as that much of a threat to physically yank the plug from the socket, but she was severely disappointed, she had failed. Her head turned dizzy, the colours blurring. Lex caught her with one arm to stabilize her. With the other he dialled his security team giving them the search radius Chloe had narrowed. It was a long shot, but he was somewhere in that area.

* * *

><p>Oliver just turned around, hearing the whirr die, the tapping of the keyboard stop suddenly. Victor had the plug in his hand, yanked from the wall, his body strewn across the floor in a sweat.<p>

Oliver rose an eyebrow.

"Any reason you just ripped the cable out?" Oliver asked, trying to catch up.

"Yeah." Vic breathed and dropped to the floor exhausted. "Whoever is working for Lex knows what he's doing with computers. We were 2 seconds from being busted. It was either a complete wipe, or emergency shutdown. I chose the latter, but in my own way. I believe I just saved our asses. Again."

"You couldn't just fling his computer voodoo back at him again like before?" Bart asked.

"You know nothing to do with computers do you?"

"I know you shouldn't drink lemonade while sitting on one. Especially if it's likely you're going to get a shock and spill it all over…" Bart trailed off. It was still a sour spot with the boys. It wasn't his fault… he didn't expect to be scared by the movie. It was a PG for god's sake. In his further defence, that woman shouldn't have been earwigging and hiding behind that door, it was just wrong.

"Clearly Lex has an inside guy working technology for him. Fast fingered and got a wild temper with what he pulled on me." Vic continued like Bart hadn't just massively pissed him off.

"I wouldn't go so far to say it was a guy." Oliver replied, suddenly piecing her presence with Lex. "There's a feisty blonde camping out in the Luthor Mansion that was a little more than peeved at me jacking the computer."

"We got our asses handed to us and an entire computer system fried by a feisty blonde?" Bart fell to the sofa. "We suck." he concluded.

* * *

><p>Time passed as it would have naturally, but in Chloe's world everything was much slower.<p>

Days were boring, hours were tedious, minutes were slow and aching, seconds were just torturously mocking her.

Lex had taken to giving her what she'd like to think of as 'the silent treatment'. But, it wasn't the silence that annoyed her, silence with Lex was mostly comfortable, and he wasn't exactly silent… he would answer her questions and set her small tasks. But it was the insultingly small tasks that annoyed her, it was the short answers as replies to her. It was the yes or no response to everything she could need. Lex passed her from guard to guard to be kept busy, he made her jobs so tedious it could only be considered punishment to be kept as far from him as he desired. They'd eat separately, they'd barely see each other unless by accident, and it bothered her something fierce.

But she knew she deserved it, she failed him.

She knew from the very second after Arrow had pulled the plug. She knew from the one handed stabilizing of her swaying world. She knew from the hand off to his doctor, the way he nodded and ordered her care to be done in her own room, the way his fingers tightened around the mobile before it was set solidly on the desk in anger.

But she deserved his anger, she deserved the brush off, deserved the pissed glare hitting the deepest core of her dark soul. If only she was faster, if only she had been stronger, if only she hadn't tasted the lips of that… that… Her brain supplied the word 'Prince', the anger spoke only 'Bastard'. If only she had put a bullet in him when she had the chance, it would all be over, she'd be a few million richer and a few billion smiles happier living far away from Lex and his sullen silence.

In memory of the event her fingers traced the smooth skin where the scar once sat. She stared at the tired eyes in the mirror, she looked exactly as she did when she started working with Lex; pathetic, out of luck and out of life. But there was her beauty still, the shitty tablets had been cooked up in Lex's lab and apart from some funky tasting side effects they had done the job better than she expected, her face would be forgettable again, it would be flirtatiously inviting, it would be anything she wanted, but yet she didn't seem to care. Her arm had healed as well, making her 100% workable. Lex had, of course , put her through her paces with sparring training again, making sure to instruct her fighters to grab her from behind like Arrow had done. It had become a silent agreement to not speak about that night. Lex mentioned nothing of the kiss, and she forgot all about her research into the jewellery. She couldn't even look at the internet page without remembering the 'event', so she concluded it a dead end and moved on.

But as much as she could file away the research, her mind would not let go of that kiss. What was it that held so tight? Was it the criminal side that had her hooked? Was it the risk, the danger, the flow of adrenaline racing her body? Was it the mask? The thrill of kissing a stranger?

But more importantly, why did this masked bastard give her more tingles up her spine with a whisper to her ear than the thought of spending the day in bed with a man like Lex?

It didn't matter, she berated herself. He would be un-masked, he would be delivered to Lex. Arrow was her ticket to freedom. Criminals deserved to be locked up and off the streets, and he was nothing but a criminal. Breaking and entry could start his list, assault was another party favour. Lex had told her about his bombs in his labs, his attacks on the city, his petty crimes on the street, and clearly he enjoyed stealing. He stole lab equipment, he stole computer data, he stole files… he stole kisses…

No, she should not be thinking about that! Again she corrected her own behaviour, shaping it how Lex wanted, and how she wanted to be. She couldn't be lip locked with the enemy, it was bad enough she shared a bed with Lex's dark secrets, at least Lex came out a knight and not a convict. She should focus on Lex, the faster she solved this issue with Arrow the faster she could leave her life behind here.

With mental determination she pushed to her feet and straightened out her clothing. She was going to see progress today. Firstly, you must know your target. She ignored the secret thrill of studying Arrow in depth and put her head high to make her way to the second level of Lex's study where he kept his sporting books. Archery was just a hobby after all.

So there she was, 8am with hair piled atop her head in a mess with books all around her in Lex's empty study. Unaware of the danger around the corner.

"No. I don't care for your excuses." Chloe's muscles locked at the sound of Lex's angry tone. If he was in a bad mood, he wouldn't really want to see her, especially not with such a mess in his area. "I don't pay you for failure!" The door beneath her slammed open and Lex stormed through.

On instinct Chloe hid, her back against the bookcase, her breathing silent, her brain in panic. "If I wanted to know what- No. I don't. I expect more." Lex paced a few more steps.

She could hardly get up and walk out, he'd know she'd already been listening. Her only option as to stay silent until he left again, she didn't want to test his temper when he was already screaming down the mobile. "I hired you because you said this process was entirely possible. I hired you because you swore you'd be able to correct the mistakes my last researcher found,"

Chloe closed her eyes, silently praying he wouldn't see her and turn his anger onto her. "Let me remind you doctor, your daughters' education can be memorable either way. Good or bad, it means nothing to me. Get me results." Her eyes opened as the mobile hit the desk, silence vibrated around the room, shredding her with a cold chill.

Lex sighed heavily and threw himself into his office chair. No, she was stuck here, there was no way she could leave now. She watched silently, trying to work herself a plan out.

Suddenly Lex's eyes clicked up. Had he seen her? Heard her? How mad was he? "Yes?" he voiced with anger.

Her heart thundered in her chest.

What could she say?

Quick, think!

"Mr Queen is on his way in." A breath rushed out of her as she recognised the voice of one of his security team.

"Is he?"

"Apologies sir, he insisted it was important." Lex waved off the guard and logged off his computer system speedily. Mr Queen: the billionaire? What business would he have with Lex? Her curiosity let her lean forwards, closer to the banister.

"Lex!" The door beneath her burst open and a blonde male flooded from it. She stayed out of sight, her eyes peering around curiously to watch the scene play.

"Oliver." Lex replied with a practiced calm, and stood, but offered no comfort drink or seat to his visitor. "I can't say I was expecting the visit."

"Cut the crap." Oliver Queen ordered and paced heavily across the floor, slamming objects from his closed fist onto the glass table. Chloe shuddered at the thought of Lex's temper if the glass would have broken. "What's this?" Naturally, Chloe leaned forward, but the objects were far past her field of vision.

"Honestly Oliver, if your optometrist isn't dealing properly, I can reco-"

"I don't have patience to play your games Lex." Queen's shoulders were strong and tense. Possibly he was as angry as Lex.

Lex sighed and picked up one of the parts for examination.

"It looks like a microphone." he spoke calmly. Chloe felt guilt and shame drown her again. This was the second time she'd failed Lex. How could it get worse? Would she be kicked out of the mansion? Moved downstairs to where Lionel had kept her? She hoped not.

"Really? Because I see corporate espionage." Through her worry something struck her; why was the voice so familiar? She knew nothing of Oliver Queen except his office plant desperately needed better care before it gave in with life.

"And naturally, you come charging in to see me. You're sourly mistaken to think I'd need to steal ideas from you. Now if I'd found one in my office, I'd have probable cause to assume you were behind it."

"Damn it Lex. I've got footage of your company car." Chloe felt her face grow red. Could this get any worse for her?

"My car went past your building and you presume I'm spying on you."

"I know you are."

"Circumstantial." Lex actually looked like he was enjoying the verbal sparring.

"I've seen people jailed with less." Oliver back lashed. The trust fund kid had backbone; she could appreciate that… and admire it.

"You're more than welcome to challenge my lawyers if you wish. But if I was you I'd be less rash with my finances." There was a pause, a small slight break where you could see the '_and what's that supposed to mean_?' float in the air. Neither seemed to avoid it, yet it wasn't answered.

"This isn't some school prank Lex. I have important confidential conversations stolen."

"And I have important time wasted the longer you stay here with your false accusations. You need better security checks, possibly a private detective. There's nothing I can do." Lex circled Oliver like a predatory shark finding a source of blood. Slowly Oliver turned as well, his face revealed to her.

Chloe felt her expression drop, then slowly everything clicked. She _had_ seen that pixelated man before. She _had _seen those shoulders before. She'd heard that voice before. Jonas. Looks like she wasn't the only one with a secret identity.

"This isn't the last you'll hear of this Lex."

"I hope not." he agreed. "If someone's coming after your business, it'll only be a matter of time before they realise it's not worth it and turn to mine. Thank you for the heads up." Lex opened the door and waited as Oliver met his stare, then stormed past him.

Chloe waited patiently, a hand over her heart, listening to the clicks of the doors. Waiting until after Lex had led Oliver far enough away, she sprang into action to leave. Just as her feet touched the wooden floors the doors opened again and Lex stepped back through. He rose an eyebrow at her. But she covered quickly.

"I was just looking for you." Before she could make up a reason why, he took her elbow and led her to the sofa none too gently.

"I have new work." he started hard and controlled. Once he saw her settle into the cushions he made his way over to pour himself a drink. A strong one. One sip taken and he wasn't dying. Another and he kept breathing. No-one had poisoned it. Yet. He came back over and sat opposite her. "You'll be keeping Queen distracted for the next few months."

"I'm doing what?" She would have spit out her drink if she had one.

"Keep him busy, whatever your mind conjures. I really don't care. Just don't give him so much as a second to sit and think." Her smile tugged alive. Payback for Queen's little lie. Sure she'd lied worse, but she was paying every day of her life.

"Pray tell… why am I doing this?" Not that it mattered, but she wanted to know. Besides, she was back on safe footing with Lex. He was giving her something worth while, she could tell from the desperation hiding in his face.

"There's a pharmaceutical industries that's going bust and will be available-"

"And you want Queen busy so you can swoop in and steal it out from under him?" she finished for him. Lex grinned his evil grin. It was the type of grin you'd find in a Disney movie as the villain twirls his moustache ends. The type of grin that made mothers lock away their daughters and arm their sons. The type of grin that could never mean anything good.

"No." He took another sip of the poison, still refusing to fall over dead. "Quite the opposite. It seems if you dig deep enough and do thorough research you'll find a few too many lawsuits in the woodwork that make it beyond worthless. I need Queen's research to be enough so he buys it-"

"But not enough so he finds creepy crawlies." She tried again to finish, this time successfully. "I don't even want to know your need for this, but if I get to mess around with a billionaire's life for a while you can count me in."

Her smile was back. Lex wanted her again, she could prove redemption for her earlier failings. "When do I start?"

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>I'm REALLY liking ChloeArrow banter, it makes me so happy. I'm guessing you'll be quite excited about Chloe/Oliver too, but that will be more of a slow burn, whereas GA/Chloe will be fast and fierce. Maybe the fast and fierce calls more to me, I don't know, we'll see how it goes when I type it up.

Okay, so question time:

Q: Do people from Chloe's past know anything?  
>A: Lionel gave her the option of either faking her death, or telling everyone she was bouncing around the world on employment. She chose the latter, however, no-one's been able to find her and ofc Clark and Lois will never give in looking for her.<p>

Q:Did Chloe tell Lex she'd met GA in the alley?  
>A:Not exactly, you can make up what happened, but the way I see it, he was too angry at the security failing to pick up the full story other than words like GA and Arm, or knife. He wasn't really paying attention to her when she told him as his first priority was to discipline rather than soothe and listen to a woman's pain. (Basically, Lex is a jackass who pretends to value Chloe when he really doesn't.)<p>

Q: Write more please  
>(yes, i know it's not exactly a question)<br>A: It will be coming but i cannot make promises of time. On the positive side i've taken the first semester exams so i'm alot less stressed. I also have the xmas hols at home with nothing to do but watch movies and prat around on my laptop (i LOVE my laptop, it's SO much better than my computer) so maybe some more work will be done to steam ahead. I DO have the rest of the story all planned out (all except the conclusion) and it looks like it will be another long-ish one. If you want a quick thrill i'll refer you to my previous short story 'A hero's work' which is also Chloe/Oliver, or i recommend you have a browse at the other amazing authors on here :D

Thank you for reading. I look forward to hearing your comments.  
>Xx.<p> 


	5. Misjudged

Reviewers, I love you.  
>I was recently asked if Chloe has healing powers in this... It's very hard for me to answer this properly, but i'll just say 'Not yet' which should answer a few questions.<p>

Right, on with the story. Hope you enjoy :D  
>Xx<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Five; Misjudged.<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Your curiosity always has a way of landing you in precarious positions. Only this time, you're on a very narrow ledge with only one way back.' – <em>Lionel Luthor. (Season 4, Episode Commencement)

* * *

><p>Time passed slowly. The scheme of the pharmaceutical industry didn't come to light until late November when the sale would come into the market's eyes, so with it being mid-October, Chloe had time on her hands to focus on other problems. Lex had dismissed her from his study that day with the more engaging idea on her mind: Green Arrow. She had until the end of January to find out his real identity. Of course, she didn't expect to need that much time. The faster she finished, the faster she could leave the fortress. There was nothing she wanted more than to be free. Not love, nor family or friends. She wanted her life, her own space and time, her own schedule of living that didn't revolve around breaking laws and blackmail. It was what she craved the most, and she was determined to get it. Arrow was her answer.<p>

Chloe tapped across the laptop again, skipping the current song on her playlist in favour of another well played musical comfort.

"Chloe." Her eyes flashed up on alert, only to find Lex in the doorway. Things had returned to normal in the Luthor mansion since Mr Queen was escorted out. Well, as 'normal' as Lex could be.

She removed her earphones, giving Lex all her attention as he expected her to do. She expected another instruction, some plot he'd designed her a part in, she was wrong. "How are you finding the room?"

Chloe smiled; knowing his need and purpose. Her fingers saved the important files with no more than a simple press of a button and she closed the laptop. Lex had no care about how she found the room, he didn't care if it was the best thing she'd ever felt or the worst. The only time he would approach her without an instant 'You will be doing…' would be when a primal desire called. The lack of tension in his stance and the leering eyes confirmed her knowledge.

"I like it." she simply replied, playing along with whatever game he required from her. She slipped from the bed, noting as she did that the game was all of her own design today, he gave no lead in his features, no words of instruction. Instead, as she came closer she watched as an eyebrow raised, amazing Lex with her talent to translate him.

"Hm." Chloe stopped just before him, the top two buttons of his dark blue shirt already hanging open after a long day. Her fingers touched automatically to the other buttons, her eyes leaving the effortless task to meet his.

There was no connection or burning passion in him. She had lost all thought of seeing any if she was honest. Just brown pools meeting her expectantly.

She couldn't hold his gaze, not when it looked so shallowly at her, but put her sight back to the bare chest she unveiled. Her fingers followed the material, pushing the silk from his shoulders, down the muscular arms to the clenched fists.

"What's wrong?" Her worry came through clearly. But he relaxed his fists under her encouraging touches and with a quick motion he put the open shirt over his back again.

"Nothing." he dismissed and put a hand to the small of her back nudging her out of the door, not in a way that could exactly be called gentle. Chloe didn't question why he liked his own bed more. Maybe because he didn't stash away cameras in his own room, maybe because he liked the familiarity of it. She didn't complain, just took his stilled hand and led him to the bedroom.

* * *

><p>It could just be pure luck that she'd decided to take this route through the city, it could have been because it was another shortcut and her feet hurt, or, it could be fate. But whatever you wanted to call it, she'd stumbled upon the man haunting her mind.<p>

Despite everything she knew she couldn't just ignore the opportunity to corner him with his pants down. Metaphorically, of course. Maybe it was a Luthor trait her mind and body had simply adopted after all the years, but when opportunity comes knocking…

Then again, her inner cat was itching for some curiosity suicide.

She sidled again the wall, wishing she had her camera. With a quick check behind her for Lex's eye in the city she poured all her attention to the arrow that had forced itself in the wall, pinning the robber and dropping the glossy pink bag that clashed terribly with his black getup. The previous owner of said bag spun around the corner and froze, seeing her assailant pinned by an arrow and a huge spectacle of a man shadowing him.

Chloe rolled her eyes; when you were wearing heels that big, with a wobble that bad, bags on every other arm and a cell phone in your hand, you were just asking for someone to rob you. Out of all the targets in Metropolis, it seemed stupid to purposefully make yourself the weakest of the herd; clearly you were going to be victim to some villain, or, in this idiotic female's case; anyone who had the nerve to call themself a criminal. Seriously, nobody wears balaclavas to rob people these days. Most theft was done online or by stolen credit cards. Street muggings were so… _last season_.

Mr Leather Fetish took the bag from the floor and tossed it back to the woman, telling her to be careful, not too busy at the time to linger his vision on the endless legs streaming from the pencil skirt. The woman called the cops and Arrow split, taking a back alley. Chloe followed reporter instincts…or maybe they were just criminal instincts, and wound back, following the street out to where Arrow would exit. She was momentarily stunned by the flashy green bike leant against the exit. Who would leave a bike like that-

He rounded the corner, and suddenly it all made sense. She stepped out into view under the security lights.

"Tell me; does this level out your karma?" Arrow whipped around, the process of flipping down the hood suddenly stopped and reversed, much to Chloe's annoyance. If she had only waited a few more seconds… His lips curved to a grin when he saw her fully. His hands left the bike and he walked long strides toward her.

"Tell me," he mirrored, the voice distorter still active over his own chords. "Did you wear that skirt with the intention of meeting me all alone in a dark alley?" Chloe ignored the jibe and stepped back, halting his actions as she did.

"You steal from the rich, and qualify your actions by saving a few simple lives every now and then?" she questioned, unable to leave it be and run like her mind wanted to. But the pounding against her ribs wanted her to close the distance. She planted her feet firm where she stood, refusing to be budged.

"Whereas you target me to get the thrill your current lay won't provide." he countered and watched her eyes turn sharp.

"Clearly at your twisted villain school they missed the lecture about sexual harassment in the work place." He chuckled and took another step.

"So you admit you're staying with Lex for business, rather than _pleasure_?" he probed, taking another step, until her hand came up, pressed against his chest, stopping him from getting any closer.

For now, he would respect her choice to stop him.

For now anyway.

He closed his fingers around her hand, keeping it solidly pressed to him.

"I like to think I have the best of both worlds." she replied, trying to keep the weakness from her voice and succeeding. Who was she today? A confident bed-mate of Lex Luthor who did not bow to the will (or lips) of villains. That's who she was!

"If you think Lex is the best at anything, clearly _you're_ the one who missed a few classes at school."

"At least he doesn't have to break into someone's home and steal another's woman for the feel of a female skin."

"Trust me Blondie, I've had more than my fair share of women writhing under me. I wouldn't mind adding one more though." He knocked loose her hand and had her against the wall, her protests limited to a value of zero. "Care to try an upgrade from Lex's shortcomings." Her face blushed slightly, her grin returned and a gloved thumb rolled across her flushed cheeks. Everything in her body told her the tables had just been turned rather violently and she was prey to his mercy. If so, why was her head screaming for more?

"Don't-" she breathed, half hoping the words on her tongue would finish with 'stop', but instead she turned her head away. It didn't matter because he took control, meeting square with her again. His thumb grazed gently over the feint scar on her forehead in the process of fading. She read guilt from the gesture, almost an apology, but the words didn't come from his lips like she imagined.

"Scared you might enjoy it?" he teased, creeping closer still. She could smell his cologne, rich and powerful, yet only a light sprinkle in the air around her. It dared her to be closer; she tried to block it out. "You forget I was there too." he continued, "I remember the lust pouring from your parted lips." His finger drew smooth across said lips, sparking the desire alight. "I can still feel your aching body, unsatisfied by the inadequate lover." Where her insides melted, her outsides turned to stone under his touch.

"I can still feel the throbbing of my head, unsatisfied by the numerous pain meds I've been throwing back." she countered, the violence in her tone shaking loose the need to taste his lips again. She had been so interested in one-upping him while he was unawares she forgot her pledge to rip him apart for the three day headache.

"I apologise." he chuckled. "I wouldn't have had to do that if you'd have been willing to let me go." Again his thumb stroked across the pale mark that would be gone within days.

"You were stealing." she hissed, her eyes searching the dark tints for something of emotion.

"Borrowing." he corrected again. "Or I _was_ until some little minx decided to let loose her hell dogs all over my computer system."

She smiled, a grin more powerful than his.

"Woof," she whispered in a breath, knowing she'd get no better apology from him currently. Maybe she'd tear him apart later. "Since it's our third date, you ready to shed the clothes and give me a name to match that ego?"

"I don't know. You ready to share yours yet?" he countered. "I've personally scoured every inch of Lex's personnel and you are not listed."

She grinned. She wouldn't be. Technically, she didn't exist at all. Records were wiped clean, all there was was a piece of paper wavering all her rights over to the Luthors.

"And I've had contacts buzzing for weeks trying to find your name. But it seems the criminal underworld knows nothing of you." Now it was his turn to grin.

"Why are you working for Lex?" he replied, shooting off around another conversational tangent. "You don't strike me as the minion of doom kind."

"He provides the juice for my crazy addiction." she lied smoothly, but it was believable…or it had been to others. He saw through it.

"You're no junkie. What do you get from it?" Through sunglasses he searched her for signs of honesty. She might be able to lie to everyone else but for him she lost all skill.

"A chance to be me." she snapped, pushing against his hold and breaking free.

"Who **_are_** you?" he asked, his curiosity real and a vulnerability tainting his solid voice.

"Whoever you want Jolly Green. But right now, I'm pissed and in no mood for your verbal judo."

"Why are you working with Lex?" he probed again, no rest in his tone. Chloe solidly set her jaw closed and marched away from him.

She got all of two metres before he had her in his grasp again, turning to front her with his repeated question. "Damn it woman, why are you with Lex?" Chloe locked her eyes on his black lenses and shot arrow of hate into his gaze. Fingers grabbed tight on her shoulders, on the verge of hurting. "Speak!"

Their _'conversation'_ had eluded them from the memory of the saved citizen calling the cops, but the siren's loud and clear streaming around the corner had both of them caught like deer before car headlights. Him for his anonymity, her for her freedom; both needed to be gone. A quick glance to the alley entrance five inches away required immediate action.

Arrow caught the panic in her eyes and pulled her to him as he ducked into the shadows of the alley next to his bike. The police would soon be arriving and searching the area, he needed away, and it seemed she also did.

"Woman." He had no knowledge of her name. Her eyes were still on the alley entrance, watching the police car speed by. "Mary!" It was the only other name he had for her, and it seemed to be work, drawing back her attention. "Get on the bike." he ordered to her as he mounted it himself and tested the grip on the handles, kicking out the stand. Chloe didn't move, just gave him another look of questioning. "Mary. On. Now!"

"I'd rather get caught. I'm not stupid enough to be dragged to your lair." Oliver had his mind on keeping her safe and nothing else.

"I promise. You'll be dropped off safe and sound. Better than spending time for whatever crime you've committed. No judgement." Her eyes connected to him, wondering how much he could know.

"_Hey!_ You there!" Both heads turned around to the other end of the alleyway where a policeman was drawing his gun to the sight of them.

"Mary. Last chance." Arrow offered, terrified of her fate if she said no.

Thankfully, she accepted his hand and straddled the bike behind him, instantly wrapping her small hands around his waist tightly. Oliver smiled and the roar of the engine drowned out the shouts of the policeman. They sped out and joined the traffic on the back streets of Metropolis under a pale half-moon. Her hands gripped tighter, but he could feel her relax as she leaned her head against his back and hugged close. Chloe swore she was resting her cheek to his armour for a position of comfort and security on the bike ride, no other reason at all. Oliver swore she was nuzzling him because of one simple reason; she was falling heels over head for him. With a dirty thought he grinned again and revved the engine loud in the night.

The ride was over far too soon, and like he promised he pulled into another dark alley a few subways over and came to a stop. Instantly, she pulled away and stepped from the bike. But he didn't zoom off. He cut the engine and dismounted. Chloe felt her weak legs back her into the wall but her voice remained strong.

"It's not Mary."

"Then what should I call you?" he asked, taking a step closer toward her. She could feel something was going to happen, but for the life of her she couldn't move. She couldn't move because her feeble legs would show weakness, but deeper down, she didn't want to. She wanted another mind blowing kiss, she wanted the freedom to taste without Lex's eyes all over her. She wanted the risk of the thrill he gave.

"Not Mary."

"How about… Cindy?" She rose an eyebrow. "Because I can always make you bend to my will." Chloe laughed lightly as he stepped closer again, winding his arms around her and bowing her to his shape as he loomed over her.

"If I'm a Cindy doll, it's because you don't have the goods to get Barbie." Satisfied that she'd won she grinned. It faded as he dropped his head closer to her, she was 100% ready for his lips to touch hers. 100% ready, but they never came.

"You want me. Say it." he breathed, a mere whisper from her lips. Her eyes snapped fully open and she released herself from his grasp, sliding back to the wall and safety.

"I don't feel anything for you." She locked down again. Cold and empty.

"You're lying."

"You're a thief." she countered.

"And you're not one to judge. I saw your reaction to those police."

"You saw nothing!" she hissed. He closed the distance to stop her need to pace.

"Maybe now I understand why you're with Lex. You're the **same**." The disgust in his tone was much more than he intended, but it showed the truth of opinion. Her anger spiked high.

"I am _nothing_ like Lex!"

"Then what are you like?" he challenged.

"I'm a survivor. I do what's necessary."

"And doing Lex? Is that necessary?" It was jealousy more than a need for an answer than made him ask.

"Like I said. I do what I have to to survive." He could have spat. She was whoring herself out to be safe. Before he could blow she spoke again. "If you're worried about me not enjoying it you're wrong." The lie intended to get him to storm off. It didn't quite have that effect.

"Really? Then why are you here with me? Why would you beg for my lips?" he challenged and forced his body flush against hers. She struggled but he took both her hands and pinned them beside her head. Flexing and wriggling her hands she felt the stinging graze of brick against her skin. Arrow repositioned them, stopping the damage she was causing.

"I don't beg for your lips. You're nothing."

"You're a liar. A bad one."

"You're too far up your own ass to see clearly. _You're nothing_!"

But the comment stirred a smile, not a revolt. He loomed closer, his lips drawn to be a millimetre from hers, she could feel the tingle of anticipation buzzing in her skin. The bend of his height shaded his features from her, not that she'd see anything with her eyes closed in expectation.

"Kiss me." he breathed. It wasn't an ask, it wasn't an order, it was something in between, daring her, but at the same time having no pressure at all. She didn't know how he managed it, nor how it happened but she found herself drawn to obey and put herself that mere millimetre forward and made contact with the substance of her dreams. But she felt nothing in return, no passion, no movement. He did nothing to her advance and again she was rushed with anger. Her knee jabbed to his thigh, kindly missing a more valuable target and she stormed off into the brighter light of the streets from the alley.

A step away from the sunlight she was dragged back, pushed to the wall and wrapped in arms stronger than her own as she was met by a lover's lips.

Immediately, she was flooded by everything that was amiss before.

The passion.

The fire.

The race of blood.

The echo of need.

It was everything she'd felt in Lex's office, but so much more as well.

He was warm.

His hands explored her in all the right ways, and all the wrong ways.

His body crushed further into her, the want rising with the movement of lip to lip.

Fingers wrapped in her hair, tugging her head back so he could attack her neck with kisses he needed to give to prove his point.

Chloe died in the sensation, thankful he had his other arm wrapped under her to keep her upright. Everything in her body was crashing to the rhythm of him. Blood raced through her brain in electric tickles before gushing between her legs in a way she'd never had before. The chemistry was undeniable, it was ferocious, it was poisonous, and she didn't want to be without it. It was undiluted primal instinct raging on a high and demanding more from both. Hormones were thumping against the roller-coaster ride of blood flow fuelling the chase.

Chloe was helpless but to soften all of her resistance, losing all mind to stay strong. Her arms made no attempt to flip back his hood, no thought of taking off his glasses, they just wanted her to be closer and brought her wish as they guided his lips back to her parted ones.

But too soon the touch she craved vanished. She expected some clever and witty remark, but she just got a cheeky smile flashed on his face and the sound of a vibration of a mobile phone. Before she could work out it was his he was back on the bike.

"'Til next time." he spoke. Then she was standing alone listening to the night life of metropolis swallow the sound of his motorbike.

Numb seconds passed her before she regained any real thought. Her hands touched to the brickwork behind for stability as she breathed with slow purpose.

Where was her mind? Was she falling for this creep? What could she possibly get from a masked maniac except for a few cheap thrills? Though if that kiss was any indication of his talent, she could say those _thrills_ would turn her world upside down and spin it around until she passed out exhausted. But it didn't change the fact he was a criminal. He stole from the deep pockets of metropolis and was endangering the life of Lex's workers with his stunts.

But…

Chloe felt a nervous timid side of her rise up for a contribution. The deep pockets had, well, deep pockets. They didn't need their jewels and gems. They had insurance, they could replace them six times over and still have change to buy a small country. And Lex's workers hadn't been touched so far, all the damages had been to property and instruments. Nothing that couldn't be replaced.

And for once, Chloe listened to that shy girl inside her. That shy girl had always wanted to see the light in everyone, to see the good overpower the bad. But why now, when faced with a dark soul like Arrow did she decide to speak up? Why evermore so, did Chloe decide to listen?

* * *

><p>"Where the hell have you been?" Canary hissed practically knocking Ollie off his bike for an answer. He shoved down the hood and glasses.<p>

"It's nice to see you too."

"No. No, it's not. Do you want to know why?" She didn't pause for breath to give him a chance to guess. "Because for the last 30 minutes I've been stuck in your grotto with the ever-changing moods of your seven dwarfs playing snow frickin' white!" Beneath the scramble of her meaning he guessed that the guys had been annoying Dinah in his absence. "Don't you even dare give m- Holy hell, is that lipstick?" Before Ollie could even think of the word Dinah was attacking his face with a forceful thumb. "This is lipstick!" she hissed. "You're half an hour late because of some female?"

"No, it's not like th-"

"Yes it is! Damn it Ollie."

"I stopped a mugging." he sped out the words.

"And then decided to take your full thanks from the whore?"

"Dinah! Stop!" Canary stopped her protest and took a deep breath. With a testing glance he saw her drop her anger.

"Okay, fine. I'm calm. But she better have been the best lay of your life. And for god's sake, get that lippy off before you see the boys." Dinah huffed and turned on her heels back to the elevator to his home. "It's clashing with your skin tone." she shot over her shoulder as he walked the bike back. Ollie grinned and rubbed his fingers over his jaw making a mental note to check his mirrors more often after seeing that vixen.

Dinah had clearly told the boys a different story to the truth. He knew because their first words were not to ask what she looked like. Instead AC was the first to speak, craning his neck back slightly but his vision solidly fixed on the video game where both Bart and Victor were playing with him.

"Dude, nice you could show."

"Yeah, timing is excellente amigo." Bart nudged in, heavy with the sarcasm.

Ollie didn't say anything just swapped out his bows, replaced a few arrows then noticed a lack of persistent huffing in his ear about his lateness.

"Where's boy scout?"

"Where do you think?" Vic breathed out a laugh to follow. "The missus has him booked solid all today."

"Something about a story. I didn't catch all of it; you know how Lois is when she gets going with an idea." Ac added. "Just asked if we were able without _mr muscle_ and since someone wasn't here to say anything else…" Oliver felt a few imaginary daggers penetrate his back. "I said she could have him."

"We figured since it wasn't that big of a facility we could have it cleaned quickly, Clark wasn't necessary this time…" Victor nudged in backing up his friend.

"No. It's fine. We move out in 10." Oliver spoke taking back his role of leader and pushing the demon enchantress to the back of his mind.

Everything had run smoothly, from entrance to exit, the entirety of Lex's lab had been cleared. Upstairs and down had been bugged with the new bombs all synchronised to go off in four minutes, and counting. Victor scanned once more for heat signatures, a habit that had been ingrained by Boy scouts paranoia.

"We clear?" Arrow asked as the others were making their way back to them.

"Three signatures. Canary on the left being bugged by Impulse -"

"Don't we know it…" Canary hissed over the headsets.

"Does radio silence mean anything to you?" Ollie chuckled back.

"Does little fast annoying kid silence mean anything to _you_? Because I'm not getting that either." Dinah grumbled.

"Anyway." Vic cleared his throat. "It just leaves Aquaman closest to us here."

"Yeah, but I'll still make it back before him." Bart interrupted with pride.

"Not surprising. You wait until we see water, then I'll be swimming laps around you." Ac snapped back.

"I could still beat you. I could beat you if I was twice my weight you're that slow."

"That theory could be tested if you **actually** put on weight when you ate." Dinah snarled, annoyed at the boy's fast metabolism. There was a second of silence then Dinah's voice was back. "Oh no. Don't you dare! If you so much as-" A squeal cut her words off and Bart's voice came back.

"Ready to race?"

Ac laughed, knowing of what that scream meant.

"Sure. Loser does the food shopping all this month." It had become tradition that before and after their justice league excursions they would clean out Oliver's fridge. Ollie didn't care, nor did he mind paying for it, a team well fed did good work, but he insisted one of _them _would go out shopping for the food. Usually some sort of bet or gamble would decide the unlucky shopper that would fill the two trolleys. Somehow, despite being the only female in their merry band, Dinah had never once been shopping. She never lost the gamble and whenever they tried the whole 'we've all been; it's your turn' she brought up some sexist argument and the men all regretted saying anything at all. But it seemed in this particular gamble she would play a role.

"You're on. Ready Canary?" There was a hiss and a slapping noise. "Go!"

Vic and Ollie exchanged a disapproving glance but watched as the heat signatures sped up. As per usual instruction Bart would take the longer route through every room of the facility while Ac did just the final leg of the journey.

Vic squinted towards the building, his mechanical eye focussing on Ac barrelling full speed like a charging bull towards them across the tarmac.

"He might do it…" Vic thought aloud.

"Nope."

"Even with Canary on his back?" Vic questioned.

"The kid's got no strength, but he can run." Oliver complimented.

They both watched as Ac got closer and closer. Victor shot Oliver a look, asking if he wanted to re-think, but before Ac could tag Oliver's hand Bart was there with a very angry Dinah forced onto his back.

Bart may have won the battle, but the war was just starting. Dinah landed a knee to his back with a sharp jab and put him on the floor, her knives drawn and eyes set to kill. Ollie caught her waist before she could lunge for the brat.

"You're dead. So dead." she spat out from behind Oliver's grip. "Just wait…" she threatened while Bart danced around her before conducting his 'victory party' moves on Ac who was panting for breath. "Oh god, I think I'm gunna be sick…" Canary lowered herself to the floor while Oliver wisely swallowed his laughter.

"I'd just like to say that-"

Bart was cut off by the simultaneous blasts of the explosives in the facility as fire consumed the sight.

"I thought you said four minutes?" Oliver yelled to Victor over the noise of the falling structure.

"It was. I programmed them to count down from thirty mins when all placed and active." he answered also stunned. There should have been another two minutes at the very least before they set off. It was by luck and luck alone that everyone was out and alive.

Vic watched the heat sensor on the laptop dance with the roaring fire of the flames over their area, blanketing their own positions.

"We're not using these again." Oliver told them all as he helped up Dinah and led his team from the burning wreckage.

* * *

><p>'<em>Ecu-tec, Luthorcorp's scientific research facility was target to an act of terrorism last night.' <em>Chloe looked up from her breakfast to the television, her mind striking directly on Green Arrow. Had he acted again? So soon after their meeting… _'Explosives were detonated in the late hours of the night, destroying the building and claiming the lives of nine workers.' _Chloe felt herself pale, her stomach rolled violently and span her head. Were the colours of the room blending together, or was it just her? _'Charred remains are continuing being examined and identified to inform the families. Luthorcorp will release a statement later in the day, and offer-'_ The tv was silenced and the room echoed with self-hate.

Green Arrow: murderer.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Oh! I didn't just cliffhanger did I?<br>oh, yes... I did.

Xx


	6. Truth or Lies

Hello sunshines.

Apologies for the delay. I am blaming it ALL on relationship drama and uni work; two things I hate.

Now for something I LOVE; Posting a new chapter :)

Xx

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Six; Truth or lies<span>.

* * *

><p>'<em>I can't figure out what you hate more – The fact that my plan works or that you didn't come up with it first<em>' – Lex Luthor (Season 1, Episode Hothead)

* * *

><p>Lex made a statement to the press, then an even clearer statement to Chloe.<p>

'**Get me Green Arrow**.'

She stood behind the plan 100%. The murderer needed caging. Robbery can be forgiven but she held a darker part of her soul for those that killed. Of anyone she could not stand… however good the thrill, however amazing the kiss, however promising the talents were; Arrow would be gone soon.

Lex approved her strategy and gave her all the numbers she would need. He'd be gone by tonight. No-one else would be hurt by him.

* * *

><p>"We didn't…" Dinah stated. Her voice filled with knowledge and confidence, but in those two seconds of silence that followed, doubt took hold and her walls crumbled. "Right?" she asked to the silent room.<p>

"We can't have…" Ac answered, but unsure of his confidence in the fact. He stood back against the cold wall, trying to avoid pacing like Dinah was, trying to avoid biting his nails like Bart, trying not to look guilty like everyone else was.

"You checked." Dinah told Victor in testing way. He confirmed with a nod.

Silence enveloped the room.

_**Nine**_ dead.

Had they killed _**nine**_ people?

"You did check?" Dinah asked again, the only one comfortable with breaking the quiet.

"Yes. I checked." Vic answered, controlling the temper than Dinah stirred when she wouldn't settle.

"Are you sure?"

"Damn it Dinah! Three were there. You, Ac and Bart. No-one else!" Vic snapped.

"I'm just asking!" she argued back. "I'm not going down for murder when it's _your_ fault!"

"We're not going down for murder!" Victor spat back, losing the lid from his anger.

"Really? Nine charred bodies say different!" Anger burned in her eyes, was she really a murderer? Had she crossed her own line?

"We di-" But Victor was cut off by Dinah's rage, fuelled by heavy guilt and inward distaste.

"We were lucky to get out ourselves. If Bart hadn't sped me out I'd be part of that death toll having my teeth identified too!"

Lifeless silence enveloped the room.

Bart watched, nervous in the quiet as Dinah boiled back down to a simmer and sat herself down. Vic huffed, questioning what he had seen. Ac was locked inside himself, he saved lives, he didn't sign on to be a murderer.

"Alright. Vic, get on the computer and get me into the city's records." Victor looked up to Oliver, questioning what he heard. "Find me some names to those bones." Vic complied without even asking why.

Dinah wasn't that type.

"Ollie, they're dead! Gone! We don't need to know how many kids we're putting in therapy. We don't need to send flowers to their wives!"

"I saw that screen last night Dinah. There were only _three_ heat signals anywhere close to the building. We did not kill those workers."

"Then who did? The Easter bunny?"

"Think." Oliver invited. "Where better to store your disloyal workers?"

"Hell of a jump don't you think? Sure, Lex's not the most ethical man but this is pushing it a bit."

"They're missing persons." Victor spoke up. "Some missing over three months." he continued.

"They were already dead." Ac spoke from his corner of solitude, piecing together the truth. "Lex killed them."

"And he knew we'd be heading for that facility sometime soon." Oliver finished.

"Lex framed us." Bart concluded, meeting the eyes of everyone in the room. The eyes all held the same flicker of anger. Behind the anger came a lick of relief, they were clean, they were safe.

"Woah. Guys!" Eyes turned back to the computer as a wild beeping occurred. Files were deleted before their eyes. "Someone's deleting the records, making them nameless."

* * *

><p>Chloe sat before Lex's computer. Lex sat on the desk watching her every click.<p>

"Have their families been told?" she asked quietly. Lex nodded.

He'd approached her that morning as soon as he'd been told of the names and asked her to remove the records. They were good workers and the families had expressed to not have their names splashed across the media in association with the terrorists. Naturally, Chloe had asked why they must be anonymized illegally at the very source, but Lex had expressed a need on this matter and that he'd promised their families privacy.

Chloe did as she was asked, making sure their names would say buried. It felt like she was deleting their very memory, but if it was what the families wanted then she would abide.

Another news update had Lex's statement about the terrorism event and that the families wished for the names to be kept anonymous. Chloe watched the news on every station that showed it, yet all said the same information. No mention of the Green Arrow or any other organisations. But she knew it was him, it was the same pattern. Late night, Lex's facility, explosives on all structural arcs to ensure irreparable damage, no security feeds or links. Only one thing differed from normal, and that was the casualties. But after tonight, he would never be a cause of death again.

Everything was set.

She just had to hope he would show. He said he'd see her again, and she was standing in the worst part of suicide slums hoping he'd show. It's not like she could send him a text. Her only option was to wait. Then a quick push of a button would have two of the best from Lex's wide payroll to assault him to the point of knockout. A limo ride with him hogtied then Lex could have the pleasure of unveiling the criminal. But still, she was the main point here. Playing bait.

This time however, there was no evil scum waiting around the corner to draw his attention. She'd just have to wait him out.

A game of Sudoku on her mobile later and the play started its first act.

"So it **is** true. I was told a petite blonde was taking relaxation time in a back alley." She looked up and down the alley. "Up here blondie." Her eyes found him atop the rooftops. As much as it hurt, she would have to play the actress again and act like the flirtatious brat she once had been. Yelling _murderer_ wouldn't get his trust.

"You really favour the dramatic entrances don't you?"

"It gives me a unique style." he wittily answered back.

"And I thought that's where you were going with the leather fetish."

"Don't be like that; we both know you love it too." She couldn't quite see, but it seemed like he was grinning. "Now why don't you run along back to the bear's house goldilocks?"

"I need to talk to you." Pain ran across her voice, it didn't need to be faked.

"You already are."

"It's not exactly a matter I'd feel comfy shouting in an alley in the slums." He nodded then disappeared from sight. The next thing she knew he'd taken her bait and appeared around the corner, to lean against the wall with a smile and relaxed pose.

"Alright. What's troubling you princess?"

"Lex." Chloe didn't come unprepared; she needed him as close as possible so he couldn't run. Her finger still hovered over the speed dial button on the mobile behind her back. "He's not too happy about our little exchange of words while he was unconscious."

"Sorry to hear that. Did you tell him you were leaving for a real man?"

"A real man that wears a mask and lurks behind corners terrified some small woman's going to hurt him?" she questioned and the hit to his ego was big enough to have him step forward and come closer to her.

"We both know who you really want to be with." he purred seductively. "Otherwise you wouldn't be waiting for half an hour in a cold alley to see me."

"It's urgent…" The right amount of inflection in her tone had the cocky attitude wiped clean.

"What did he do?" He didn't quite know how she was so enchanting to him, but he was liking her more with each sighting. He needed to get her from the deep claws of the Luthor.

Chloe wrapped her free hand into her side, feigning unconscious movement.

"Nothing too bad… I just thought you might be able to help…" She let her face fall and like magic he came closer to her. Her finger pressed the speed dial behind her back. She felt like crying, with no idea why.

Had she wanted this murderer so badly?

What was wrong with her?

"Tell me what he did." The smile was long gone. "Did he hurt you?" The disgust covered the question and from her eyes he could see the answer was painful. "The bastard!" he hissed and came closer still. Was that a tear? His gloved hand came to wipe under her eye, she ducked from his touch. Did she fear him now too? "I swear, I won't hurt you." The comfort in the tone had her eyes water even more.

Why couldn't she find a nice guy?

Why did she fall for the scum of the earth?

Why could they pretend so well?

Instead she got bastard after bastard. This one was no different.

A glimpse of movement came to her vision past Arrow.

They were here.

"Lex wanted me to give you a message." She stared into his lenses. She dropped the façade and showed the mobile from behind her back. "He looks forward to seeing you." She stepped back and the two hired muscles came to block him in the alley. Arrow's confusion cleared and turned to anger. But as angry as he was for her trick, he couldn't shake the feeling of truth he got from her. She was either a hell of a devoted actress, or those tears were real, that fear in her eyes was real. And it made it impossible for his anger to be directed towards her. He watched as she took place against the wall, no escape attempt. He could admire that, and after he'd dealt with these idiots he'd get a truth from her one way or the other. Even if she had to be drugged and put over his shoulder to be locked inside his home for the next few months, he _would_ get the truth from her.

"That wasn't a very nice trick goldilocks. Don't think I won't be paying you back." She didn't even have the energy to think of how she'd be paid back, she knew he wouldn't be in any position to carry anything out.

"Like those nine workers. Was that payback? Or just collateral damage?" She couldn't help but blurt it out. She had to see his face, to see the smile of the murderer acknowledged for his work. But it was no smile.

"Look Goldi, I didn't kill those people." Was that why she looked at him so broken?

"Save your lies." And with a nod she had his full attention on the men who drew closer, hungry for blood.

These men were armed and dangerous. They could take out a master of any form of martial arts and above all things; they were extremely expensive assassins that enjoyed dragging pain out for as long as possible before the kill.

This time however, a little extra money had made them slaves to the Luthor dollar and they were instructed to bring Arrow back alive and restrained.

She watched from her place against the wall as Arrow turned to each with a tactical observation from his defensive stance. "Okay. Which one of you two ugly monsters wants first try?" Chloe smiled at his light humour, but quickly dropped, knowing he wouldn't be as light soon. She almost didn't want to watch, but it felt like she was abandoning him if she were to leave. Her feet couldn't move even if she wanted to.

The man on the left moved first, his fingers aimed for a pressure point he could disable Arrow with. Chloe saw the deflection of the move, but then it became a blur of fists, too complex for her to follow.

The verbal fighting dropped after the first line and now the physical did the talking. Punches landed to both fighters. Grunts and gasps left each. But she knew Arrow wasn't with the upper hand. Another few steps played before the other hired hand joined, he jabbed a kick to Arrow's kneecap, sharply setting him down, a whack to the back of his neck had him on the floor. The two clearly worked well as a malicious sadistic team, kicking the dog even when he was down.

Chloe wanted to scream to stop, that it was enough and he needed no more. The words were on the edge of her tongue, itching for her to say them as knuckles came into him again. Did a murderer deserve this? Was this _too_ far? Before she could justify any reasoning, it was the force of steel toe cap boots slammed into his ribs with a crunch that went past the line.

"Stop!" Her commands were cut short, the black uniformed man shuddered and collapsed to the floor. He turned as he fell, the electricity of whatever arrow used jerking the body like a tazer shock.

Chloe silenced again watching as Green Arrow pushed himself back to standing. A feat that was amazingly impressive considering the beating. Chloe met his lenses with sorrow, her eyes filled with water. Arrow winced as he straightened, hugging his ribs. But the victory of standing was cut short, the gun barrel fired loudly down the alley like a car backfire, a rubber bullet hitting the upper thigh of the leather glad fighter and putting him instantly back down to the concrete groaning in pain. Chloe felt her knees give out and she dropped to the floor.

"Miss, call the car. We can't stay long." The order brought her back to life, his gun still aimed at the man on the ground in agony, the bullet pointed to his nerves. "Ma'am!" he hissed again and she dug out the phone, the guilt eating at her. No matter how much she shoved her emotions back down, it wasn't good enough to assure her it was the right thing to be doing. Still, Chloe hit the dial and the car started its journey from two streets over, out of view.

He was for her freedom, she reminded herself. No more calls from Lex, no more illegal jobs, no more running from cops, no more avoiding customs, no more faking identity, no more hiding. She could settle down somewhere nice, she could get an honest job earn an honest wage and build a home far from her past. Lex would have caught him anyway, she justified. She may as well get something out of the act. More importantly, it wasn't just for her; it was for the nine workers he took the lives of. Arrow's head dropped from her vision and she forced herself back to her feet, looking to the hired muscle.

"No. That's enough." she berated, when the second, and still standing, assassin twitched his finger over the trigger aiming at Arrow's stomach.

"I don't take orders from you. I'm paid to bring him unable to move, he's still alive and kicking." Chloe stepped forward again, confidence building as she defended the man on the ground.

"You take your pay check from my boss, but I am in charge of this project so you will obey me, and I'm telling you he needs no more. Tie him and he won't be going anywhere."

"Take a step back Miss before you ruin your Prada heels." She took another step closer. The gun turned to her. "I said step back and shut up. Or you'll be added to the delivery." Then, as fast as she could blink, the assassin before her was on the floor, the gun kicked aside.

What had happened?

She looked over; there was no Green Arrow anymore.

Was he alright?

"You're alright now." A shadowed figure reassured her. "Did they hurt you?" Numbly Chloe shook her head, and it pieced together.

"You work with the archer." she stated, realising he'd been saved by a teammate who thought Chloe was the damsel Arrow was trying to save. "Is he alright?" she asked it before her mind could even think about it.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry. Go home and rest." Then as fast as he had arrived, he was gone and she was alone in the alley with two unconscious assassins. The car arrived in a screech of tyres against the entrance and she watched the men as they read the situation and their faces turned from shock into a composure of action. They drew guns, searching the empty alley for what nightmare could lurk in the shadows.

Chloe was stunned silent. Arrow had more players, that was a twist she hadn't expected. Did they work for him, or he for them? Just the one, or more? All super-powered? Did Arrow have a power? Well, apart from the addiction to leather and arrows.

Arrows!

With a burst of energy she ran to the other black covered man on the floor with the arrow in his leg. Maybe she could find answers from this. With a look back and seeing the others still busy, she carefully tapped a finger against the arrow, finding it without charge and tugging it from the man's leg. It was small, maybe not intended to be fired from a bow like the others. Maybe it was just a last resort, but it packed a hell of a punch. Absently she checked for a pulse, making sure the punch hadn't been fatal. It hadn't, but it didn't mean it wasn't amazing.

The sound of shoes hitting the ground moved her again and the muscle arrived for the next unconscious warrior. Chloe stood quick and put the arrow in her bag. She didn't know why, but she wanted to keep this for herself, and not Lex's grubby fingers.

"Miss, what happened?" One asked, hurrying her to the car as the others finished in the alley.

"Later." she simply replied and with everyone inside they sped back to the mansion and to a very disappointed and angry Lex. Her treasure sat in her purse, guarded by both her hands.

"How did this happen?" Lex raged, pacing the floor in front of all the people involved. "Tell me how this happened!" But before anyone who was brave enough could speak Lex was at it again. "I presume he actually showed up." That instantly got Chloe off the hook. "And from the state of my hired help I know they were there." That got the employees in his private hospital off the hook. "I want to know how from that point onwards things went downhill! I pay for results, not failure."

"Mr Luthor, when we arrived they were already out, just the Miss left." A head nodded Chloe's way, though none of them knew her name. Lex never told staff her real identity, they just called her Miss, or Ma'am. Those who could be trusted knew her first name, but even those who he put his life in the hands of knew not of her background history. Darren was the only one with a few clues, he had signed away his information to keep his job.

Lex followed the nod, knowing she'd be the only one with information.

"Get out!" he shouted at the staff and he watched them scatter. Chloe didn't move from her spot, knowing she was the silent exception to his order. He made his way to the liquor stand, pouring himself a small drink and shooting it back down. She didn't read what it was, but it was strong enough to quell Lex's temper. "Do you want to tell me how this happened?" he asked, his anger simmering, but threatening to blow over if she didn't give him what he wanted.

"Arrow doesn't work alone Lex." she stated, when his expression didn't include a raised eyebrow she continued her statement with an accusation. "But you already knew this." He didn't disagree. "And didn't tell me."

"I thought it was irrelevant." he spoke dismissingly with a wave of his hand.

"So when I asked for _**all**_ the information on Arrow, it didn't cross your mind to include things like this."

"Chloe, the more you know, the more at risk you are. I kept this from you to keep you safe."

"Well whoever it was knocked out your hired help and took Arrow. Then, he came back to ask me if I was alright. It doesn't exactly sound like mastermind criminal behaviour Lex. He believed he was saving me."

"Chloe, you might be expecting horns and a pointed tail, but not all men of evil wear their colours so brightly. Some hide behind the rouse of friendship or sainthood."

"Then why knock out both your men, when it would have been so much simpler to just kill me to get at you. Or kidnap me. It's not like he didn't have the skill."

"Chloe." He stepped towards her, hands on her shoulders. "I do my very best to keep everything associated with you as far from me as possible. It's probable he had no idea you even worked for me. He just saw the men and took them out, '_aiding_' you in the process. It isn't everyone they target Chloe. Just rich men they wish they could be, they see you as too small on the food chain to bother with." His thumbs rolled over her shoulders. "And I couldn't be happier about that fact. You should be happy you're safe."

"I appreciate you keeping me out of the association Lex. But I want those files by the morning. And if you happened to have omitted anything else, include that before I find out again." She shrugged off his hands and left him in favour of her room. The arrow was still in her bag, still on her mind.

If she could locate the story behind the specialized arrows, she could follow it to the green knight and his merry band.

* * *

><p>As promised, she awoke to a box of files on 'team-mates' of Arrow. It seemed in total they had almost as many crimes as she did. Theft, violence, destruction of property, you name it. Were they accomplices in the murders? Why would Arrow deny his part in the murders? Was it possible it was some other people? Lex had more enemies than fingers, it would be plausible.<p>

"Chloe!" Lex's bad mood sailed to her ears seconds before the doors burst apart and let in the wolf. She rolled her eyes and stood from the couch where she was sat with the papers. "Tell me you have something!" He paced to her then stopped dead, looking for a golden egg in the files of papers.

"Not yet, but I-" Before she could touch the paper she wanted to show him he cut her off.

"Then find it! I want him off my mind. He's costing me more than I'd care to part with." With a heavy exhalation he turned to leave again.

"Lex, I-"

"Find me something Chloe!" Lex hissed. Careless for her.

Chloe rubbed her fingers over her temples trying to soothe the ache and sunk back into the couch.

Whatever had happened to Lex in the last few hours in his meeting had obviously rubbed him the wrong way. If she had to gamble it would be easy to say Arrow had destroyed one of his pet projects beyond repair and the estimate cost of restarting from scratch had come to Lex. It wasn't a long shot.

It annoyed her no end that she was Lex's punching bag for his bad moods, but despite his darkness, he was worth saving. It wasn't his fault he turned out this way. Anyone fathered by Lionel Luthor would have the same approach to life, some would crumble but she believed strongly that Lex could be saved, he had escaped Lionel's lasso more times than she could count, and his fire would keep burning any ties Lionel tried to set down. Lex just needed a gentle hand and he'd be free of the demons from his parentage. He wasn't beyond saving.

Arrow though…

He was a liar and a murderer in addition to his previous crimes. He'd crossed the line between good and evil.

Lex… well, Lex only line danced using it, he never jumped quite as far past as Arrow.

With a sigh, Chloe turned back to the papers.

Accomplices. Was it possible Arrow told the truth? That HE didn't kill them? He did have other to help just as able to take lives.

AC one was named, clearly a codename like all the others, he seemed to favour the waters and from Lex camera's he could be classed as equally as dangerous as the others.

Canary was the only female, previously hired by Lex and changed sides to the persuasion of Arrow. No reason why, no notice of how, just the lure of evil called to her and Arrow supplied. Able to break glass and ear-drums with the parting of her lips. Bad taste in fashion…

Cyborg. Lex included little background on the man other than the fact he was mostly machine, and mostly his. But through continuous upgrades and a LOT of money spent on research all of Lex's ties had been severed, the machine now belonged to his fighters. It was clear that this one would be her personal competitor in the department of technological warfare. Not that she'd admit it out loud, but some of this gear was impressive. Some days she would have killed to have half the software he did, but… it would come with a few downsides. Still, the things he would have in him currently, as an upgrade from Lex's original work… well, to say the least, she would love to get to look at them.

'Boy scout' they called him. No images, no video footage. No knowledge at all. Just the scraps of metal doors he would leave behind. This was the man she met the other night, the one that 'saved' her. The one who vanished Arrow from beneath her feet, the one who kindly approached her to see if she was alright. The papers named the man 'the blur'.

Which led her eyes to the last man, one also with the ability to move as fast as a blurred caption of the eye. Faster actually.

Impulse.

Also known as Flash.

Also known as Bart.

Also known as her old friend.

She'd met Bart while she was under Lionel's thumb. He was a teen who wanted to court her across the world. One that ran to Mexico for her favourite dish on her birthday. One that made life seem to have that silver lining.

Lionel had soon turned it all to black. He'd moved her to the other side of the world on a seconds notice and she'd been told to focus on work and not some teenage crush.

If only it had been allowed to go that far, she never saw Bart again, never had a chance to see where it would go. After a few weeks of no word in her new country she moved on. She never told Lionel he had any powers… she knew the consequence. And now here she was looking at his blur across a video screenshot. How did he get so tangled up in this mess?

She laughed internally, how had she gotten _herself_ so tangled in Lex's mess? She could hardly judge a man she knew as a petty criminal. She supposed there was no other route for those who committed crime as teens. But for him to escalate to murder?

No, it was too big a leap. Bart was too kind a soul to do that.

He _was, _she repeated to herself. It had been a good couple of years since she knew him. Time changes people. They get desperate.

Chloe shook her thoughts from the past. This was happening now, she needed to sort this out. Lex only wanted Arrow, he would only get Arrow. And she would get her freedom.

First things first. Her mind went to the arrow hidden in her purse. She needed to find out what it was made of, who made them, who sold them. More importantly, who bought them. Find the buyer: find the user.

A smile crossed her lips. It wasn't half as difficult as Lex made it out to be. But this victory was hers, she'd find this all on her own, and she knew exactly where to start. Downtown Metropolis, in the darkest dankest pit of delinquents where she fit so well: Suicide Slums.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Questions, Corrections, Comments &amp; Reviews are all welcome.<p>

Thanks for reading.

Xx


	7. Trouble

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:)

This chapter will give you a little more insight into the terrible Luthor past dear Chloe has had.

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:)

Enjoy.

Xx

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><p><span>Chapter Seven; Trouble.<span>

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><p>'<em>If I ever let you slip through my fingers, I have no idea what I'd be capable of<em>' – Lex Luthor. (Season 6, Episode Crimson)

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><p>Chloe rolled the arrow in her fingers. With Lex's demands and tasks she'd not had much alone time to investigate further, but now she sat crossed legged on the bed filled with wonder. The last few days had been spent being amazed by such a small device, marvelling, puzzling… it was occupying her mind all the time. Now she was coming down to her last guesses.<p>

What was it made of?

How did it carry the charge of electricity powerful enough to knock out a brute like Lex's goons?

Again, she turned it in her fingers, the silver shaft shining in the light from overhead, the emerald feathers of the fletching brushing against her skin gently.

Did Arrow intend to fire these from distance? They were too small she noted. They'd have to be affixed to arrows to be fired. It explained the shape of the projectile, it could easily become the extension to a basic arrow.

With a sigh, she turned the object again.

Did he craft it himself? Surely not, it was too skilled. There were few places for criminals to buy such skills… most she could find by a walk around suicide slums.

Clearly a visit was in order.

Her fingers froze their activity as the thought became more developed. She had time_ now_. The sun had set and work had finished for the day regarding Lex's records. Now, she could focus on Arrow.

Being a criminal, it wasn't a large stretch to say he had friends in the slums. Maybe these friends were loose lipped when it came to her powers of persuasion. Maybe she'd walk out with a name in 30 minutes…

Excitement filled her arteries, flooding her system.

Even if she found no friends, she could find the retailer of these weapons and find a link back to her target.

With a smile, she found herself full of energy. Anticipation fuelled her actions and she found herself in Lex's study tugging on her coat before she could think of the words she wanted to say.

"Going out?" he asked in her momentary silence after she burst through his door. Without knocking, he noted, slightly peeved.

"Green Arrow lead. Time sensitive." It wasn't, but she didn't want to be locked here explaining herself for the next 30 minutes.

"Where?" He closed the laptop and stood, his interest peaked.

"Slums." He wasn't shocked. No, not at all, in fact he expected the archer to have friends in those dirt ridden parts of the city.

"Take-"

"No guards." She cut him off before he could say the words. He rose an eyebrow at her. "My informant isn't going to talk with a brute behind me. And we know suits don't do well for getting words out of people in the slums."

"You have friends. Call them. You do not need to leave." She took a breath to calm herself before replying.

"Not all of my 'friends' will be so lose tongued. Some _persuasion_ will be in order."

"Then take some muscle." he re-iterated.

"I want them to be able to talk afterwards Lex. And it's not always **that** kind of persuasion that's necessary." Lex's blood boiled, his features turned hard, no-body touched Chloe but him.

"You're not leaving."

She breathed a laugh.

"Not that kind of persuasion Lex." She hid the offence she felt that he'd thought she was ready to whore herself out for information. "The kind that favours and little computers skills buys."

"You're not going alone." he stated again and closed the conversation, moving back to his laptop, but he didn't open back the screen until she had agreed.

"The only way I'll take someone is if they promise to stay in the car, and that would make them obsolete anyway." He didn't see her point of view. He didn't even try. "I know you're concerned Lex, but I can take care of myself."

"And what about Arrow." he spoke slowly. "Will he be as forgiving now that you've tricked him? Will you remain an innocent bystander to him now?" Her stomach suddenly flooded with butterflies, she was potentially walking into the lion's den.

A lion that was heavily injured, she corrected.

"He's in no state to be harming me Lex, he could barely walk last I saw him." The images still haunted her mind. Not that she could admit that to Lex. Pity for a murderer… he'd send her away if he even caught a whiff of that kind of emotion. She needed to be 100% in the game.

"And his friends." he prompted. "No doubt he has shared your true colours with them by now." She felt a cold shiver stretch deep down her back.

"I have many allegiances in the slums. More than them, stronger than them." she bluffed. She _had_ many allies, she _had_ many strong bonds… but then she left without a word. Friendships fell apart quickly in such dangerous climates, she could only hope the embers still burned hot enough.

"Chloe. You. Are not. Going. Alone." he spoke slowly and flipped back open the lid on the laptop.

"Alright. I'll take one. Only one." she conceded and leaned against the sofa, waiting to negotiate something agreeable.

Seconds passed with no input from Lex, just the click of keys, then a silent stare at the screen… something had caught his attention. She moved closer, intending to enquire as to the new development. As he heard her feet move his eyes clicked up.

"I thought this was time sensitive Chloe." The 'reminder' was a clear red light and dismissal. She bit down on the boiling anger and nodded, turning sharp on her heels and marching out.

"Miss Chloe requires two bodyguards for her immediate departure." Chloe heard Lex speak to the phone. Her head spun back and rage flickered in her eyes. But Lex didn't look up to see the hurt, he didn't even lift his attention from the screen to speak aloud.

With a huff, Chloe hit heels to the wooden floors at a rapid pace and claimed the first keys she saw. The sleek black ride roared alive before security could even get their gear together.

She let her anger out on the gas pedal and gunned the engine loud and disruptive until Luthor's manor was a mere dot in the rear view mirror. Unable to calm as quickly as she wanted she couldn't enjoy the ease of handling nor power locked under a hood of a stallion.

Regardless, by the time she had parked the car in a secure garage a safe distance from the thefts of suicide slums she was satisfied that security wouldn't be able to track her once they had finished following the GPS to the car.

She had a name in her mind and photos of the arrow in her handbag.

Jack was an art fanatic, well, he was the one to see when you wanted something pricing for the black market, under-the-table trades. He'd also be her best bet of identifying the material of the arrow. He could point her in the right direction for buyers, sellers and weapon enthusiasts. They would be her ticket to finding a name. And that name, would be her one way ticket to freedom. A smile crept to her lips as she let herself think of such a delight.

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><p>Arrow crouched on the roof. It couldn't be…<p>

But what would Lex Luthor's lay be doing on the wrong side of Metropolis? Silently he followed her from above, watching as she turned further into the darker side of the criminal district.

Since Morgan Edge had _retired_ from his business of governing the crime of downtown metropolis, there were smaller bands of criminals which looked out for themselves, they'd attack anyone they assumed a threat to their new independent system of living. He had the scars to prove it. Well, he did have. He also had too many broken ribs to count and couldn't breathe. He flexed his fingers, fisting then releasing the fully healed digits. The RL-65 did wonders… once the side effects were controlled he'd be safe to take it out with him. But since he'd spent the entire day yesterday locked in a room screaming bloody murder in a fit of rage, he could hardly approve it yet.

Three addresses later and her kitten heels were tapping the wrong kind of ground. He promised himself he would just watch and not interfere, but at any moment she could be taking her last breath in these parts. His finger twitched as she approached another abode. From his positioning he didn't see the shotgun to her back until he saw her reaction.

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><p>"Hold it there Missy." A voice muttered behind her. It was full of disinterest and had the rasp of a heavy smoker. When she didn't move the barrel was nudged against her again and she slowly raised her hands in a show of innocence.<p>

"I'm looking for Jack." she replied softly.

"Yeah, and I'm looking out for you. Go home now Missy, turn around and be glad I was here tonight." he retorted, softening the pressure on her.

"He's an old friend." she continued.

"Turn around and go back. Forget you came." he reiterated in a commanding voice, ignoring her.

"Just let me see Jack. Tell him-"

"Ain't nobody called Jack around here love. Trust me on that." He sounded true. The smoker released his grip on the gun to cough out a blackened lung, or at least you would guess from the sound.

Chloe whipped around and had the shotgun from his hands and in hers.

"Jack. Black hair. 6 foot 3 inches. You'll tell me where he is now or-" Chloe stopped and lowered the gun. "Charlie? Is that you?" The muscled man flashed his gaze over her features and recognition crossed him. The shaggy hair flopped over his eyes, untamed as usual. Age had met him well, she noted. He was still handsome as ever.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Never thought I'd see your face again. How are you lass?"

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><p>Oliver watched stunned through his crosshairs as the gate keeper of the inner circle pulled her into a hug usually only reserved for favourite family members. Who was this woman?<p>

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><p>"Lookin' for Jack are ya?" Charlie asked after they'd sped through the very basics of catching up. "Last I heard he had some business with Loretta… if you catch my drift…" Chloe caught the drift loud and clear.<p>

"Where did he run to?" she asked humorously. Loretta was the woman men continually wanted, but could never keep, and as soon as things went downhill they usually skipped town to avoid her mood swings.

"That's for him to know and the rest of us to wonder." he answered on a sigh. So nobody knew. Great… no Jack. No Jack meant no starting point.

"Don't suppose you know who took over his businesses?" She tried without hope.

"Sorry lass. My domain has nothing to do with the changing of hands. I finished with that after Arlene gave birth. I'm just making sure the lost city folk don't end up as fertilizer."

"Congratulations." She smiled, but it quickly turned to a sigh.

"Oh, lass. Put a smile on that face. You don't ever deserve to be sad. All you've been through. I saw Alfie the other day, he wandered from wherever he's been liv-"

"Thank you!" she suddenly exclaimed. "I owe you Charlie!" she added, heading off in the other direction. Charlie ran his fingers through his mess grinning at the girl's enthusiasm, it had been a while since he'd seen her like that.

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><p>Oliver followed her from the rooftops, watching in awe as the woman received threats then seconds later she'd be pulled into greeting. Each time she had a different name called to her. Just how many did she go by? He didn't even have a clue what she was born with. Certainly no Charlotte Maine was employed at Luthorcorp, nor any other name that matched her description. If she didn't work for Lex, why was she doing his bidding? Could she not see the villain he was?<p>

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><p>"Alfie?" she asked, stepping closer to the old man with cautious footsteps. He might be old and retired, but his grumpy attitude mixed with penchant for carrying weapons could be dangerously fatal.<p>

"No. Nobody of that name here. He retired and moved to San Francisco last I heard." The voice was practised with lying, so much that even she had to double take.

"It's important Alfie."

"Listen you. Your great grandpa ain't here anymore, so piss off." She watched his back as the muscled moved to grip a gun.

"I'm not looking for a great grandfather. Just a great man with a lot of important knowledge." She watched his frame lock and she went on edge, it was still only a 50-50 chance she would leave alive.

"I told you to scram lady, don't make me do something to force you." he hissed and turned to point the gun at her. Watching, she saw his eyes squint then widen again. "Well…" On a breath the anger seemed to drop and he became unburdened again, like she knew him before. A smile played on his wrinkled mouth and he opened his arms for her. "It's been years. How are you sweetie?" he spoke as she embraced the old man. "Still under Lionel's reign?" he asked.

"I'm a hand-me-down actually." she conceded. "Lex has me to play with." He frowned and released her, choosing to rest his tired frame on the steps instead.

"Still no escape clause?"

"If there was-"

"Aye, yes. You would have found it. Ain't that the truth. You're still good for work aren't you though?"

"He keeps me busy." she answered without divulging any more to upset the man. "But that's not what I'm here for." He rolled his eyes.

"Too much to ask for a social visit then." he complained in his grump. But the humour was there too. He was a scrooge when it came to conversing. If he could avoid it, he would.

"Jacks business. Who's looking after the sales and trades?" The old man scoffed a laugh.

"Aye. Down here for business alright. I wouldn't tell you if you paid me. You need to stay away from those parts of life."

"So it **is** true." she commented, his words reaffirming the rumours she'd heard in her visits while hunting down Alfie's address. "Where do I find Bryan?"

"Those words should never leave anyone's lips." he sternly told her, shutting down and closing off.

"Alfie. It's important, I wouldn't ask otherwise. You know that." Seconds passed where he grumbled under his breath, cursing and blinding.

"What trouble you in now?" he finally asked, anger in every word.

"None, surprisingly." she admitted. "I need information."

"I've got information girl!" he snapped.

"Specialised arrows, where do I buy them?"

He groaned.

"Arrows? What you after arrows for? Bullets still work don't they? Or are they too last season for you now?"

She laughed and looped her hand around the railings.

"Information." she explained. "For a client." she added after a second.

"Well this client is leading you into deep waters." He sighed heavily. "Yeah, you'll need to ask Bryan. I can hook you up with guns, bullets, and even throwing stars. But medieval weaponry is out of my interest range. I'm hardly the prime age to start building new contacts." he admitted with another grumble. He loved the girl, but being back in that vicious world again was too dangerous.

"No. I wouldn't ever ask you to, you deserve your rest. I need to find Byran that's all."

Time passed in silence. Finally a loud resigned groan came from the aged man and he answered.

"You'll need a trip to the hospital then…"

"He's dying?" she said it so quick she couldn't stop the excitement showing at the thought. To describe Bryan as a mean bastard was like saying nuns had maybe once given thought about the idea of there being a God.

"One could only wish." he huffed. "Drive-by nicked his shoulder with a nine millimetre."

"Suppose I should pay him a visit."

"You'd be the first. Even his daughters steered clear of this one." he told her, pleading with his eyes for her to stay as far from this as possible. But he knew her well enough to know she'd never let it drop.

"Never too late to mend fences." she spoke and rose from her perch, brushing off her coat. "Besides, I can get something he wants."

"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised. "Never known Bryan want anything…"

"Small things Alfie. Very small." she replied mysteriously. He shook his head in humour and looked up at the women he had once found crying on the street. She had certainly grown since that day. Blossomed into something beautiful and strong. Shame she'd been so deep in with the Luthor's though.

"Met Gen. Room 206." he reeled off the information reluctantly. "Take someone with you though girl. Some muscle or something. Please. For your own sake."

"Alfie. I owe you." She laid her lips briefly to his forehead and turned to leave.

"Chloe." he called. Slowly she turned, not used to being called her real name by anyone who wasn't a Luthor. "Be safe will you?" With a humble nod she gave him one last hug and was taking the faster route away from suicide slums.

Alfie sighed and gripped the railing to haul himself up. He'd fathered a few bastard children in his younger days, most he had no care to know or bring into his life. But Chloe… she was more blood than his own offspring. She was the one that he couldn't turn away no matter what happened. As far as family went, she was it. With another grumble, he smoothed his aged fingers over the pistol in comfort and prayed for some god to care for the woman's health, because he knew damn well it was the last thing she thought of when she had her mind set.

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><p>Arrow fisted his hands again. He'd been out of earshot for most of the conversation between them, but from the fatherly hug and care he showed, he knew he'd be finding out the name of this man one way or another. Finally he'd be able to put a name to the dame who was driving him insane. Murderer she'd called him… she thought he was a killer. She'd tricked him and intended to turn him over to Lex, but still he wanted to see her.<p>

Now where was she going? he wondered as she wrapped her coat tighter around her small frame and hurried past streets on the fast track out of the slums. Unable to follow any further he watched her fade from sight as she left the slums for an exchanged safety.

Who was she?

What was she doing in such a dangerous place?

Had Lex sent her down in his bidding?

Damn Lex, he could kill that man!

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><p>Chloe was met at the parking lot by four very annoyed employees of Lex's. Stern faces froze all optimism she had of freedom. Heavy hands encouraged her into the passenger seat. A cold silence led her back to Smallville, the buzz of his radio told her Lex would be waiting for her and his mood was far from pleasant. She watched in the quiet as tall towers of buildings turned to busy neighbourhoods, eventually it flowed to scattered factories amidst fields. Finally, the car drew to a stop as her heart grew to lodge in her throat, pounding against her with every hurried beat, Lex was in the doorway. A fierce ember burned, almost vibrating against the night.<p>

Her eyes flickered to the driver, he met her with a shade of guilt and quickly put his full concentration on his grip on the wheel. But she'd met a fate worse than this under that roof, running would only make it worse, she had learnt that in a way she never hoped to repeat. With forced bravo, she stood from the car and walked the short distance across the gravel. Almost ominously the crunch under foot was only broken by the engine of the car fleeing from the scene to be stored again.

She stopped half a metre from him, daring herself to look into his eyes when nobody moved. She saw emptiness.

With a blink, he stepped back into the warmth, she knew without a word that she was to follow. But he didn't lead into the study, nor to the parlour. He passed the bedrooms and pushed open the door to the library that held the history books she had no interest in. The door shut out his security and his calm patience was also barred.

"What were you thinking?" he began.

"I was thinking about getting the job done!" she snapped back, instantly loosing fear and finding it replaced with hatred. How controlling did he want to be?

"And I was thinking about your safety. In case you forgot, you belong to me!" He made the claim she hated hearing with every intention of hurting her. "You follow my orders and you do not EVER betray me!"

"It was necessa-"

"Was it?" he interrupted. "Was it necessary when I helped you? Was it necessary when I fought to give you a life?"

"Some life!" she scoffed. "How is this any better for me?" she screamed. She saw the anger bubbling brutally aggressive under his skin, but the next words slipped free before she could hold them back. "You really **are** your father's son."

Panic raced her body as she saw Lex's fist tighten and raise. Fear came strong and fresh hitting every cell and shutting her down. She'd gone too far this time. After all Lex had done to save her and she was trapped in the same hell. Her skin stung in anticipation of the hard blow, each millisecond torture for her as she waited for the pain. She pried open her eyes after too long to see Lex drop his fist to his side.

"You will follow my orders Chloe. There are worse ways to punish your disobedience than sinking to my father's lows." The voice was controlled but not as calm as he intended. With the threat in the air clinging to her bones he stepped out of their deadlock towards to door. "Get some sleep. Tomorrow's a fresh start." The gesture was merciful at best. Something she hadn't expected of Lex, yet she knew why. He was proving he wasn't like his father.

Shakes overtook her and she dropped to the floor after the door clicked closed behind him.

The sooner she un-masked Arrow, the sooner she could be free from this torture. But a comfort washed over her knowing that if Lex hadn't released her from Lionel's reign she'd be dripping crimson onto the mahogany floors right now, trying to hold back the sobs until the end of the sounds of her tormentor's footsteps walking away.

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><p>"<em>And now?" he asked, his height powerful and restrictive.<em>

"_I-I… I…"_

"_I-I-I-I" he mocked cruelly. "If you want to talk, speak properly."_

"_I won't do it again." she swore whole heartedly._

"_I don't believe you."_

"_I promise. I swear. Please." Her begs were nothing to him. She watched from her red knees as he grew taller and taller._

"_You need to learn." he stated, like it justified everything he did._

"_No. please. I-I swear it won't ever happen again."_

"_I wish I could believe you Miss Sullivan." _

"_Please Mr Luthor. It was an accident."_

"_An accident?" he repeated. "Is that what you'll have me believe?" he asked in rhetoric. "I am neither stupid, nor going to let your lies carry on."_

"_No. no, I swear. I didn't mean to. It was an acci-"_

"_An accident. I heard the first time." He took a step closer. "But you're only making it worse for yourself by carrying on the lie."_

_Lionel stepped closer, the shining buckle of his belt glinting in the light. Her eyes watered, the rich leather lay tight in his fist. _

"_Please, I-"_

"_Enough." he called and she brought up her arms to save her body again as the belt broke the air._

Chloe woke sharply, covered in a cold sweat. Her eyes stung, her arms ached, her back burned, a toxic tear leaked from her scared eyes scorching the track down her cheek and falling to the bedspread. She shot her fingers back in her hair pushing it back from her eyes. She needed air, she needed to think clearly, she needed to lose the fuzzy feel of the nightmare that told her it was reality.

Pushing from the bed she stumbled in the dim light to the en-suite and shoved open the door with a force she hadn't intended. The wood bounced back to shut almost immediately as she passed.

Water.

Cold water hit her face putting some colour into her cheeks, washing off the sting of the nightmare. She was safe, she told herself. Lionel was gone. Lex wouldn't hurt her as long as she did what he asked.

Maybe it was Stockholm Syndrome her mind piped up, maybe she believed she was safe with Lex because she'd spent too much time around him and was going mad. Chloe shook her thoughts out and reached for the towel, patting her face dry. No, Lex was no villain to her. He'd saved her. He was the hero. And she wasn't his prisoner, she could leave… but it wasn't favourable. She was the closest to complete freedom she'd been for years.

Feeling empowered again she turned on her heels, this time more gently opening the door, but her reflection caught her eye. A strong women faced her dressed in short pyjamas. She'd always been a strong willed one. But the face was aging, the looks were fading and the stress was kicking in. As much as she wanted to deny it, deep in her heart she wanted to settle down with someone, relax and kick out a few kids. But not while she was under the Luthors. She nodded strength at the woman in the mirror and turned her back.

Her back…

Pausing on the spot, she risked a glance back. The soft cotton of the top hid everything from view, but she knew what lurked beneath. Scars of her battles, her punishments, her unrestrained will. As she had done many times before she lifted the top and crept closer to the mirror, letting her back fill the view. Most of her skin was its creamy colour, soft to the touch… but then there were lashes of white and pink blending in. Most didn't even notice, most she never let see, those that did catch a glimpse couldn't tell unless they were right on top of her. Scars that wouldn't fade, marks that couldn't leave.

Memories that shouldn't be forgot.

She knew how she got those three crossing lines. It was the day she pushed him too far. The day he revelled in drawing blood. The day she wished to never forget, but not for that reason.

"Papa." she breathed almost silent to herself. She missed him ever so. Since her mother left… he was all she had… and now she was alone.

"I am strong." spoke aloud, and dropped the material. Lionel had beat her down more than he was allowed, and now she was stronger than ever. He would get what he deserved, that she would see to.

She filled back off the light and put herself into the bed again, forcing her eyes shut. She would not be beaten by a bad memory coming to life in her dreams. No, she would think of her future. Of her own private island, tanning on a beach as far from the Luthors as money would allow.

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><p>"<em>Ten minutes." he swore. "Ten minutes and I'll be up." Eyes met her over the laptop on the desk. An angelic smile shot to her and infected her own lips. "You look beautiful when you smile." he spoke getting distracted. "You also look beautiful dressed in that green lingerie, that one with the lace that sits over you so amazingly that I can't wait to take it off you." A cheeky wink added to a dirty proposal had her cheeks alight with colour. <em>

_Her man stood from behind the desk. "Why don't." He took steps as he spoke. "You. Go and slip into that lovely underwear for me. And I'll bring you up that surprise I was talking about earlier." His fingers curled under her chin and she couldn't help but smile._

"_And this surprise?" she asked just as devilishly. "I'll like it?"_

"_You'll love it."_

"_It's nothing bad."_

"_Bad stopped happening to you as soon as you met me babe." His lips came down to hers, his tongue begging for entry which she gave. _

"_If this is any indication of where my night is heading I think I'll love it." she breathed as they parted, her eyes still closed and bliss still painted all over her face. No binding contract tying her down. He could tell the freedom was delightful for her, it made him just as happy. _

"_Oh darling, the night's young." he teased. "And you know my talents never disappoint." His arms slipped around her, keeping her as close as lovers could be. "All I need is ten minutes. Ten horrible minutes for us to be apart. Ten minutes where you can freshen up, dress up and lay seductively in that big bed for me. Ten minutes where i'll think of nothing but you. Ten terrible minutes of proofing!" he added a melodramatic groan and sank to his knees before her, his hands splayed on her hips. Slowly he looked up with lusting eyes. "Tell me it's not worth it. Tell me to quit and take you now. We both know I will."_

_She smiled again, that beautiful smile that caused an explosion in his pulse._

"_You have 10 minutes to finish your work Mr Queen, then you better be in our bedroom or there will be trouble."_

"_Ma'am yes ma'am." he answered, then dropped character for a moment "And you'll wear those stockin-"_

"_I think I'd know what you like by now." She grinned, her thoughts on the many occasions she'd donned this lingerie set for him. It was by far his favourite. Why? Because it was the first set he's taken her in, the first time he'd held her that close, the first drag that got him addicted. _

"_But not those ones with the silk on the-"_

"_I know." She cut him off and guided him back to his feet to plant another kiss on his lips. "I know what you like."_

_The original underwear set had been destroyed in an act of passion a few nights after the honeymoon. They'd been buying in bulk for when he felt the need to rip, but sometimes, he craved a little stiletto on her feet, others it was a necklace, sometimes the stockings were required. It would be some steamy sex tonight, she knew. "Ten minutes." she reiterated and tapped her wrist where a white gold watch hugged her. She turned and walked out of his study. "I'm counting." she added from the hallway, her heels on the floors. "And I expect that work to be done!" she called in afterthought. _

"_It won't be." A deep voice called behind her. She felt her balance be taken as a body met with hers and swept her off her feet taking her back to the study._

"_Chloe, what's-" Oliver was stopped short as he saw him. And manhandling his wife like that. Anger rose as Chloe was shoved to the floor, the study doors locked with the man inside._

"_You thought you saw the last of me. Handing me over to Lex like that?" he hissed at her. "Selling me out!" The emerald archer was in a furious rage, his crossbow aimed directly at her. Oliver reached for the gun under the desk. He'd told his wife he'd got rid of it like she asked, but he needed something for their safety… except his hand met solid wood, the gun wasn't there. She'd probably searched the house herself and got rid of it. Damn Luthors, ruining his women! He would have to fight this archer hand to hand, he had faith he could win. _

"_I-I-I didn't know what he was doin-"_

"_Didn't know?" Arrow shouted. "How naive are you? Did you think he'd let me play with puppies?"_

"_I-" Oliver saw the fear in her eyes, the guilt in her lips, the shame in her posture as she crawled backwards across the floor slowly._

"_You took my life from me. It would only be fair to return the favour. But then you wouldn't suffer enough would you? So I'll take his life from you!" The crossbow suddenly changed direction and the arrow flew before any reaction could change._

_It landed with true aim slicing clean through Oliver Queens carotid artery and slamming into the wall behind them. Oliver cupped his neck, feeling the sting of blood seeping from him. Slowly he felt himself slipping down, gravity claiming his body._

"_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Her scream could be heard across the world. It was one of pain and torture so bad it would curse the lands into depression for years on end. No care for the escaped murdered who had taken her husband's life she sprinted to Oliver, holding close his body, covering the wound. But his vision was blurring, his skin was white and his life was ending. _

"_Chloe." he whispered between the flickers of death. "Love you." he managed to utter. He felt the wet tears cascade onto his skin as she rocked him. Then it was dark._

_Greif turned to anger and she turned back to the man she had once locked away. Killing the workers wasn't enough, he had to come back to kill her happiness. Her eyes looked at the man she had once kissed asking for a reason why. _

_The only answer she got was the cold sting shooting across her neck, the thud echoing in her ears as another arrow lodged in the way behind her. Blood sped from her artery, her mind going blind in the pain. _

_At least she'd be away from this man and back with Oliver._

For the second time that night, and not the last, Chloe woke in a cold sweat, her hands shivering and pulse shaken.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>I missed you. Hope this was good for you too :)<p>

Feedback earns imaginary baked goods and fluffy baby animals. (Yes, I am very comfortable with bribery, thanks for asking :))

Xx


	8. Control

Hello darlings, I'm happy you're still sticking around for me to finish this. Yes, it SHALL be finished. As long as there is breath in my body I swear this story shall not be left unfinished. It would greatly piss me off if I left it half completed anyway… it would GREATLY irk me, know that.

So yes. I have every intention to finish this story.

Now that we've covered that I shall be a good author and answer some reviewers worries/questions which I may have slightly failed to reply to… (woops- sorry).

1-Chloe does not know about Clark's powers, she left before they were revealed to her.  
>2-Chloe has a loyalty to Lex because he 'saved' her in the past. But a lot of her past has been a lie and terror filled (which you will find out later… and a little in this chapter…) . So basically Lex is the better alternative to what she has known and she knows her life could be a lot worse without Lex around.<br>3-This chapter she will find out about some of GA's truths and some of Lex's lies will be in the next chapter. So hopefully, the smoke screen of her mind will start to clear.  
>4-Clark and Lois will be a minor character development… but that's mainly because Oliver and Chloe have a much more 'fun' relationship to play with. Maybe they will come into play in future chapters… who knows?<br>5-Chloe will be meeting Oliver Queen soon ;)  
>6-I am trying to write more often, so hopefully posts will increase<p>

This chapter was fun to write ;) y'all see why when you read it… I've been dying to write this bit for a while. (I would like to believe this is still classified as M and not MA-as that would get the story booted off-… but I may have crossed the line a little… it's not my fault, it's a very blurry line!)

Hope y'all enjoy it.  
>Xx<p>

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><p><span>Chapter Eight; Control<span>

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><p>'<em>You know, the other day, a professor of mine… he accused Luthorcorp of being evil. And you being just short of the devil'<em>

'_Well, you didn't tell him about my pitchfork did you?_'- Clark Kent & Lex Luthor (Season 5, Aqua)

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><p>Chloe slumped against a shaded wall and hugged her coat tighter, shielding against the slight chill in the air. Her nightmares had left her feeling ill, her heels were killing her, her hair was refusing to obey the sacred words of the hair brush and she would have much preferred to stay cosy in bed served warm breakfast by obedient servants. Instead she was returning from her last chance to avoid Bryan, feeling dejected and just damn moody. Her last contact and last idea had fallen through entirely. An old friend's sister's boyfriend's cousin had specialized in medieval weaponry…but, as it turns out Arrow's arrows were too modern for him to even think about. She had no other choice but to see Bryan.<p>

With a sigh, she rearranged her flimsy scarf intended for fashion more than warmth and pressed on down the streets back to her car.

What was wrong with bullets anyway? Why arrows?

She scoffed allowed, able to answer her own question; the pool of knowledge on modern day arrows was so limited he had a great chance of remaining anonymous even if his entire weapon stash became compromised.

A groan slipped her lips as her peace was interrupted by the demanding shrill of her mobile phone. Honestly, she thought about not answering it. Contemplated playing dead or that she'd lost the wretched device… But, if Lex had some news, she would be at a disadvantage by not answering.

Chloe rolled her neck gently and pushed her hand to search the disastrous organisation that lived in her handbag.

Each piercing ring had her more flustered but finally she had her hands on the item that had violated her silence. "Damn you Lex. Can't you leave me alone for five minutes?" she asked aloud to the vibrating object before going to answer the phone, only instead she felt her arm slam into the wall behind her and the phone drop to the ground with a clatter.

High on alert, Chloe turned to her arm only finding an arrow lodged in the sleeve of her coat pinning her. Green fletching had her heart pounding in her ears. Arrow was here… for vengeance. Panic flooded her and she tugged on the arrow, but it was without avail. She stretched as far as she could down to the still ringing phone and thanks to her small height she managed to pick it up and answer the call.

"Lex, hel-" Her gasp cut her off as the other sleeve became pinned to the wall, again the phone hit the floor, this time the back casing split off, the battery coming out by sheer luck. There would be no help for her now.

Fearful for her safety, she tugged against the material trying to shimmy out of the coat, but the arrows had pinned it too close to her arm, she couldn't free herself. Her heart was thumping almost painfully, was this how she was to die? An accident of William Tell in the back deserted streets of the slummed town she had spent her worst days in?

"No back-up this time?" the familiar concealed voice spoke. She scouted the rooftops first, but this time he came from the same height as her and walked down the alley, bow in hand fixed with another arrow in its hold. Dangerously seductive. He could have her screaming in either pleasure or pain within minutes. Which he chose was anyone's guess. "I don't know whether I'm surprised or disappointed." he laughed.

Her eyes followed the gloves on his hands to the bulging biceps bound by bands to the solid muscles hugged by green leather. Shades hid the eyes, the hood concealed the face in shadow, but she saw the grin. It was a winning grin that told her how truly trapped she was. He stood proud, he stood cocky, he stood with an arrogance that put even her strongest cells on edge.

She was vulnerable; he had the control.

Fear raced her blood, pounding through her senses. Chloe could even see her chest rise and fall visibly as her nerves fired over and over telling her of the approaching danger. And he came nearer still.

She panicked, trying to tug her arms free before it was too late. The corner of her eye watched Arrow pull a second arrow and aim them both with one shot. Head and heart shots she presumed. Then again, maybe he'd go a different way and want to torture her first. Chloe felt her skin start to burn, her blood was itching and she needed to be free from this rat trap. Before she could even think to scream two arrows flew at her, she felt the air whip past her cheeks and lips. Was this it, was she dying?

"Now that we know you've not going anywhere, maybe we can have a chat." Arrow spoke lightly. Chloe opened her eyes to find an arrow either side of her neck, pinning her scarf to the wall at either side. She couldn't move even if she wanted to, not without strangling herself. She was entirely at Arrow's mercy now.

"How are you even walking?" she asked in a whimper hoping to distract him from his task so she could find a way to free herself.

"I have friends." he simply replied. "You're not the first to try and kill me Blondie." But she **was** the closest to succeeding.

"An eye for an eye right?" she guessed. "It's why I'm pinned against this wall, and it's why you killed those workers." Arrow sighed heavily with annoyance.

"You're pinned against this wall so that we can have a much needed chat. No other reason." Lies, he told himself, it was so he could show off his skill, thrill her with the rush of adrenaline and then take her kisses when she couldn't pretend she didn't want them.

"I d-"

"Not your turn Barbie, shut up and listen to me. Or maybe I'll change my mind and I won't be letting you go after I'm finished with you." Chloe nodded solemn. Either way it was free information about him. "I did not kill those workers." he started, but instead of the silence vow she couldn't help but fight back.

"So it was one of your team mates, one of your _frien-_" A leather hand came across her mouth.

"Thank you." he sarcastically spoke before continuing. "Those men were not killed by anyone on my team or anyone associated with me." Her muffles came from under his hand. Curious, he let her speak again.

"Yeah, don't you just hate it when people decide to spontaneously combust at the same time you're bombing a place." He silenced her with his hand again, but laughed as he did.

"Your fragile finger should be pointing a little closer to home. Point it to your boss maybe." This time he didn't let her muffles see verbalisation. "As his computer puppet I imagine you read the last few months of their lives before you deleted them?" Only he knew the answer. "No? You mean your puppet master didn't let you do that. Did he maybe just stand over your shoulder the entire time and watch you very closely?" Again, they both knew the answer. "Did he make sure no-one else could access those files? Are their names wiped and families financially compensated to cover what Lex did?" Her silence and lack of fight answered. "Like I said, Lex was covering his own ass and shifting the blame to someone else. I suggest you resurrect those files from the electronic graveyard and read into the past months of nothingness their lives have been." She was quietly thinking, so he released his hand from her lips. His eyes kept locked on those lusciously temping teases though. They were deeply red, parted for her breath and the tip of her pink tongue came to wet them for a shimmering shine, he could have sworn he had been beamed to heaven from that sight.

"Even if what you say is true." she began, hesitant in her words, and flickered her big baby eyes to his shades. "It still makes you a thief. You've still broken into numerous facilities and homes and you've blown several sky-high."

"Then you have extra homework Goldilocks. There's truth hiding from you relating to everything you listed."

"You attacked me and knocked me out. Or is that a lie too?" Chloe fired at him, angry with herself and for his words causing her doubts in what she thought she knew. Surprisingly, he just laughed a glorious sound.

"No, that one you can arrest me for and I sincerely apologise for that." The gloved hand that had been pressed to her lips stroked a thumb over her head. There was no scar, no mark, but it electrified her nerves and made her weak with lust. Arrow smiled, seeing her body relax and her eyes cloud over. "Believe it or not, but I _am_ with the good guys." he soothed. But his grin took shape again and he closed the distance, his bow sliding onto his back and his free hands settling on her hips. "But I can be bad… if that's what works for you." She breathed a laugh, a smile claiming those perfect lips and drugging him further with her spell.

Chloe could feel the heat of his hands through her coat, she didn't even utter a complaint as the leather slipped under the material and rested silky and sinfully sweet on her bare skin. "I dare you to tell me you don't want me right now." he chuckled softly. She couldn't speak, not with his thumbs working those small circles up her sides. With a rush, she felt his body push onto hers, his hands rolling her hips to feel his arousal. Her lips parted for a gasp that she couldn't hold back. Her hands were pulling on her bindings, trying to touch him back, her neck was pressed to the scarf trying to get the kiss her body begged for.

Another chuckle parted the air, brushing her cheek as he caught her with the familiar blush of a strong passion in her blood. Her breathing was fast, her chest rose and fell tempting him further and her eyes were half lidded in desire. Her perfume invaded his senses, something fruity, something he couldn't place his fingers on.

He caved, he couldn't help it. His hands regretfully left her bare skin instead tugging open her coat buttons and showing the full breasts hugged in bra and tank top. He ripped free the arrows pinning her neck and tossed aside the scarf to let his lips lay on her bare neck and pepper her with kisses. Chloe was too lost to see anything more than a show of manly strength and that she was being kissed by him, but why was he not on her lips, why was he not where she wanted him, no, _needed_ him.

A broken gasp left her parted lips as he kissed her pulse strong and deep, the gloved thumbs working circles over the pebbled nipples her clothing tried to hide. Slowly his lips dropped, now kissing the top of her mounds. "Stop me." he spoke, praying to every god she would not. "Stop me now, while I will." he repeated when no reply came. His breathing was as fast as hers, his body was raging with heat and desire, but he managed to lift his head from her to get an answer. The answer was no words, but a tortured pain expressed in her gasp as he left her body. "Tell me." His words became more pressed and urgent. Chloe saw the world again but wanted to go back to the pleasure so much she didn't manage anything more than a plea.

"Don't stop. Please. Don't stop."

Arrow needed nothing more, the leather clad hands pulled down the material of the top and bra in one sweep and his lips dove to cover the freed nipple. Chloe couldn't hold back the moan, couldn't stop the thrill of desire nor the ache in her body. She knew she was grinding against him for some relief but couldn't find any notion to care. She knew anyone could choose this lane at any moment, she knew people could see her if they looked… but to stop would mean to stop him, and she could not envision doing such a thing. His hips rolled with her, one hand on her other nipple, the other gliding down her stomach and gripping her hips to move them with him as he wanted.

She was his.

It was clear in the noises he brought from her.

It was clear in the trust.

It was clear in the very fact she was rubbing herself on his erection in a dirty alley without a thought more than him.

Her hands tugged against her bindings again and complaining whimper broke free as his lips left her tight nipple free to tingle in the cold air.

"You're wet for me." he whispered direct to her ear. The accusation was silky sweet and his hand locked her hips to his, stopping her from grinding like she wanted. Her breath broke and then hitched as she felt his gloved hand stray from her hips to her trousers. "Why didn't you chose today to wear that ridiculous skirt?" he breathed in a groan and popped the top button to let his hand in.

Slowly, he watched her as his hand lowered and trailed down the outside of her panties to a very wet patch. Her eyes were closed in the bliss, her lips parted and slipped another free moan as his skilled fingers rubbed her clit through the cloth. "Let me?" he asked. She didn't bother to think anymore, just nodded and sank further into bliss as his lips attacked hers and muffled a loud vocalisation of pleasure as the panties were pushed aside and a gloved finger teased around her entrance before slowly slipping into her heat. "Shh blondie. Don't want the whole neighbourhood hearing, do we now?" he chuckled and withdrew the digit only to thrust in return to hear her cries again. She delivered the cry and tried to bury her face and dull the noise. His erection was practically throbbing in his restrictive choice of clothing but he would have to be pained for longer because he refused to take her in an alley, not like this.

Her hips starting grinding his hand for him but he took back control and dove his finger fast and skilled into her liquid heat. His mouth pressed to her neck and the kisses started again, a second finger easily joining her pleasure pool, scissoring and curling inside her to drag out those pleasured sounds she tried so hard to muffle on his shoulder.

Chloe let herself fall deeper and deeper into the pleasure, she knew she was close and she didn't care. His lips were everywhere, on hers, on her neck, on her breasts, taking little nips, little nibbles, little gentle bites of her aching nipples. She felt so very loved and her body was on fire for this man she couldn't even name. She knew she was in an alley at risk of being seen by anyone to chance a back alley route, but she couldn't care. She could only think of the feel of leather sinking in and out, driving her mad.

"Oh, oh, oh god." Her voice carried soft in a plea to his ears and his smirk grew. Never had she soared so high so quickly, usually she was working with fumbling men taking 30 or 40 minutes to even get her warmed up… but Arrow seemed to know her, he seemed to play her like they'd been together for years. Even if her head said no, even if her heart would prefer anything but to get involved, her body was screaming 'yes!'.

Carefully, he pulled free the arrows caging her arms, still aware she could turn against him, but she couldn't even think of anything but to wrap her arms around his frame and let him take her as the pleasure took her over in its bright warmth. His fingers dashed, finding that perfect spot inside her and rubbing it in all the right ways, he could feel her body change, pushing her higher.

It came as no surprise when she clamped down, her body locking to his as a scream left her. She came hard around his fingers, her slick walls fluttering in their rush, her mind racing. He took her lips, trying to silence the sweet noise she made that seemed to echo in the streets and inside his hazy mind. Fingers clutched tighter to him as she tried to cling onto sanity in her bliss. He let her ride, giving her the rush she'd been living for all those years.

Something told him she'd never had it so good. His ego surged, but as her muscles relaxed again, he could feel her sag into him, her sanity coming back. As his gloved hand left her she felt an emptiness hit her powerfully. She lifted her eyes to watch him grin, tasting the juices she left on his leather. Chloe felt the fuzz in her mind clear reflecting what she had done, but shock had no time to arrive.

A siren interrupted whatever clever common on his lips. The difference with this siren was that it was close, and getting closer.

"Com'on blondie, time to go." Without waiting for the words to register in her conflicted confusion he swept up the arrows and her broken phone before putting an arm behind her knees and sweeping her from her feet to cradle to his chest as he ran out of sight.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked after a few seconds running. His answer was to show her a knowing grin.

"Sadly, you need returning to your ivory tower princess. But we will finish this." His lips pressed to hers in a quick gesture before he put her feet on the ground and nodded to the hired hands of Luthorcorp waiting by a black SUV across the street, completely un-aware of their presence. Chloe didn't want to go to them, but the roar of Arrow's bike had her protests silenced. "I look forward to our next meeting." he shouted and took off into the blur of traffic. Chloe absently righted her clothing before walking over to the bodyguards. Wait! Her phone! It took three seconds of patting her pockets before she realised who had her entire livelihood and contacts.

Damn Arrow!

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><p>Dinah was hot out of the apartment as soon as she heard Ollie's motorbike. He'd barely got his leg off the bike before she was standing before him, hands on hips.<p>

"Who is she?" she instantly asked, a bite in her tone that said she would not be messed with today.

"Who's who?" Ollie asked, lingering in his blissful thoughts while Dinah tried her hardest to pull him from it.

"Who's the women that puts that daft smile on your face?" The bite stung him enough to pull him from his delight, but Dinah gave him no room to speak. "Tell me, or lord forbid I will mention this to the boys and I'll let them have at you." Oliver groaned and rolled his neck around gently, feeling the ache of the days' work… the day that had been fantastic, the day that he'd tasted the bitch haunting his mind. God, she was beautiful when she came, he'd see her again like that. He had to. "Fine. I would have sworn you secrecy, but if you want to play it the hard way that's fine, I'll just-" Dinah had her words cut off as Oliver caught her arm and turned her back around to face him.

"I tell you and you never say a word again." Dinah nodded, happy to hear the gossip and find out who'd been playing with the archers heart strings. "You'll ensure the boys do not find out and cover for me when I need you to." Dinah paused, wondering if it was worth this… but if Oliver was putting in such orders she assumed it was.

"Fine. Now dish." But no immediate reply came, instead Oliver started walking his bike away. "It's not your new secretary is it? I know you said she was useless, but com'on Ollie, fire her, don't fuck her."

"No. It's not my secretary."

"The maid tickling your fancy with her feather duster, the hostess prancing up and down on your jet, or maybe you have a little more class and went for the daughter of the tailor who's been designing your 'fancy pants' suits for years!" Dinah spat out, disgusted in his habits.

"No." Oliver replied, but there was no trace of anger or guilt. The lack of fire in his tone had Dinah calm instantly, she knew there was a fire in his heart.

"You really like her…" she claimed, almost shocked to hear the words from her own mouth directed to Oliver. "Oh, com'on Ollie, tell me. I swear nothing will get back to the boys, who knows, maybe I can help arrange your little trysts." The smile was genuine, the offer was filled with hope for him, would a woman finally tie down Oliver Queen?

"Dinah…" He turned to her, the bike in its usual home and nothing more to be busied with. "I… I, don't actually know her name." Oliver watched as Dinah stood in silence and blinked. He suddenly felt the need to defend himself. "It's not like I haven't tried, but she keeps giving me a different one each time."

"What is she, some sort of criminal on the run? Where the hell you meet her Ollie?"

"Lex's mansion." Oliver waited those few seconds, waiting as Dinah's eyes flashed from a '_what the fuck?_' face to one of understanding.

"She's Lex's… she's the one who's been hacking us? You're falling for the enemy. Great Ollie, seriously great…" she replied heavy with sarcasm, but there was more behind that. "Wait, this could be useful…"

"Before you hatch some elaborate plan about trickery and deceit, you should know that I'm relatively sure she's not helping Lex for her own reasons." he added.

"Blackmail?"

"We _are_ talking about Lex here." Oliver confirmed.

"So what _do_ we know about her?" Dinah probed after a few seconds of quiet. Oliver did nothing but hand her a mobile. "You little thief." she complimented. "I'll get Vic working on cracking the password to _my assistant's _phone."

"Thank you Dinah."

Oliver entered his apartment to find the mobile already hooked up to Vic's systems with Dinah stood behind him yapping about how her new '_assistant_' had been stealing from her desk and she wanted to get even. Oliver sent her a grateful nod before being pounced upon by Bart.

"Where've you been amigo? Halo tournament started 5 minutes ago. You said you'd be here ages before that." The kid sure had a pout when he wanted it.

"Yeah, well, there was a screaming-" and moaning, writhing, grinding and practically begging, "-woman than needed my help."

"You'd think they'd have the damn courtesy to stay out of trouble while I kicked your ass on a video game." he complained in jest before settling back on the couch with his controller and a pizza box. Ac stole another slice between laughs while Lois trashed Clark's ass on Halo. You'd think the great Jor-el would have at least given him better ability to drive a warthog… sadly even Dinah could beat Smallville.

Ollie chuckled and unzipped the costume. He paused when he came to removing the gloves and let himself bathe in the memories of a short blonde coming hard over them.

Dinah flipped a glance back to Oliver, seeing a smirk raise his lips and warm his eyes. She'd have to see this feisty female herself sometime soon.

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><p>Chloe met hell again when she came back into the Luthor mansion. Lex was beside himself with anger at her yet again running from his bodyguards, he told her this would be the <em>last<em> time he allowed it to happen. Next time there would be consequences. Chloe found herself choked up with a memory of the last time she'd crossed the firm will of the Luthors when they'd used that tone. She made a mental promise to visit her father at some point soon. When Lex learned of Green Arrow walking and talking, fully healed, he could do nothing but turn his back and return to his work, urging her to do the same.

Chloe did, she went straight to her files on the Green Arrow, her first mission was to dig deeper into the truth he claimed there to be. Her assumption was that there was some secret about the facilities he'd bombed, or some past regarding the jewels. The second she found very fast, it turned out Lionel had not been buying from registered retailers, unsurprisingly, the beautiful 'stolen' objects were all from the black market. But the facilities all seemed to be perfectly legitimate. Lex would want to know this, and maybe he'd provide her some answers. It didn't take long before she was back in need of Lex's presence.

The sound of grunting effort came from Lex's gym and she followed them to find him sparring with two of his guards at the same time. She didn't bother to stop and admire, just stood to the side and announced her point.

"I need to know what files Arrow took." she spoke. Lex didn't stop his fighting, just asked why and threw back some punches. "I had a look into what he stole from Lionel, I found something '_interesting_' I'm trying to see why he'd steal from you. So I need to know what was on those files." That stopped Lex. He paused, then ordered both guards to wait outside the room behind closed doors. Chloe smiled at both brutes as they left, they didn't mind the interruption, all of Lex's security seemed to warm towards her.

"Lab research." Lex answered. Out of courtesy she hadn't opened a single file she was asked to protect. Part of the reason was because there were so many it would take forever to snoop through them all, another part was that if they did contain illegal information she wasn't involved with them, a third part was that it was her procedure for all encryption deals, if she looked at the files then she became part of their business and would have to be wiped out if she knew 'too' much. "What did you find?" he prompted, stepping from the mats and catching the water bottle she tossed to him.

"The previously stolen objects have all been from the black market or previous stolen, he thinks he's playing Robin Hood." she spoke, moving around the mats to sit on the bench. "But it makes no sense why he'd target you. The majority of his actions are to keep some twisted idea of balance. Hence, what's on those files?"

"Research Chloe." he answered again. It wasn't enough for her and Lex added, knowing where her allegiances were. "There's a military commander looking for new ways to boost our troops in war. He started funding experiments with meteor rocks, but it led to a few problems. A few of my projects have been looking into his work and harnessing the power of meteor rocks to give us an advantage."

"You're making super soldiers?" she questioned.

"No." he corrected and drank greedily from the water. "We're looking into the effects of meteor rocks, both good and bad. Hoping to stop other research from destroying more lives like previous experimentors have." Chloe corrected his answer mentally '_yes, he was making super soldiers_'. "But in the wrong hands, this information could lead to our destruction."

"Sensitive research, I get that. But the rest of it, why would Arrow steal it?"

"To sell it to other countries who are trying to do the same, maybe he wants to keep everyone on par. I don't deal with the cognitions of psychopaths Chloe." Lex sighed and then continued, offering her more information than she expected. "The rest of the research he stole was more of a personal pet project. Medical trials with meteor rocks, chemical cures and the likes. Compounds to enhance life as we know it, cure the incureable. Some extremists have expressed a certain disinterest in playing God, I imagine these merry men view it the same."

"These are all at your labs they've been bombing." Chloe guessed rightly. "I'd like to see one." Lex didn't expect her request, but refused to show his surprise.

"Why?"

"Why not? Could it hurt for me to see the work you're doing? I want a better understanding of what Arrow thinks he's saving the world from." Lex hesitated but agreed.

"I'll take you by the end of the week."

"I'd prefer tonight." Again, there was a silence that made her wonder if she'd crossed some line.

"Darren will take you tomorrow and you will not leave his side. Understood?" Chloe nodded and left before he could change his mind. She apologised to the guards outside for interrupting their practice and left Lex with them again.

Instead of returning to work, Chloe showered and re-dressed in a black dress and called for two security and waited for them in the garage. They ran to their cars, expecting to have to chase her out, but slowly they understood and drove her to Smallville cemetery.

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><p>It wasn't raining, it wasn't snowing, it wasn't even cold. The sky was just washed with an evening glow from an appearing moon. Workers hurried home to families and warm homes. Chloe stood in the dark of Smallville alone in every sense of the word. The security were too honourable to insist they follow her to the graves, so had stayed by the gates. Her throat felt tight, her chest felt heavy and she suddenly wanted to go away from this place. Her eyes cast down to the headstone, wishing she knew what words to say. It had been a good few years since she'd been here to apologise.<p>

Gabe Sullivan. Her father, her rock after her mother abandoned her, her embarrassing dad that came with all bad dad-jokes and humiliating amounts of pride in her. If he could see her now, he'd be crying endlessly. How could he have pride in a daughter that had killed him? Her eyes misted and she tried to blink them away and be strong. How could she sum up the guilt, the misery, the hatred for herself. She'd gambled with something so precious as her father's life and he'd paid the cost. She'd called Lionel's bluff and it had taken her last parent from her. Lionel didn't care, just told her that it was her own fault and she should have played by the rules. What hurt the most was that Lionel was right. It was her fault, all her curses to Lionel, all her tears had been wasted, she should have just done as she was told.

She supposed she could take comfort that fate was paying Lionel back, his liver cancer came with pain that even the best treatments couldn't eliminate and medicines just skimmed the surface. His agony would be worth hers. But it wouldn't change the grave before her. Her hand reached out, touching the cold stone.

"Sorry dad." she began, tears rolling past her mental barricade. "Sorry I haven't been to visit. I-" Her words stopped as she heard a branch snap. Listening, she heard footfalls coming closer. Damn guards. She swung around hoping to give them hell for interrupting her, but she found no guard.

Anger swelled in her chest. It was one thing to follow her around metropolis, an entirely different point to set foot anywhere near her here. Was privacy too much to ask? In anger she wiped under her eyes and scratched away the tears. She was at a graveyard for god's sake, did that mean nothing to him?

She whispered another apology to the gravestone unsure of what wrong it was addressing and turned her back to it.

"What are you doing here?" she spoke slow and deliberate.

"Relative?" he asked in the same distorted gruff voice she had loved only a few hours ago.

"Old friend." she corrected with a bite and offered another silent apology to her father. He nodded solemn but it just spiked her temper more. How dare he come in here, disturb her peace and pretend her understood what it was like to lose someone so dear? "Are you visiting, or just stalking, because this is crossing the line." Her hands wanted to shove into pockets but the dress had no space for convenience. Instead her hands crossed across her chest.

"I thought you might like this." His hand outstretched holding her mobile. She didn't move toward him though.

"Have you memorised my address book by now?"

"I didn't even look at it."

"You want me to believe that you've had my phone and it's sat on your desk untouched. You must think me incredibly naïve."

"Or maybe I trust your security to be too much to handle."

"For you maybe. Maybe you didn't touch it. But I'd bet anything your tech geek did." she spoke. He didn't answer. Instead she took another conversation. "What happened between us cannot happen again." No, she'd liked it too much, she'd been utterly consumed by it so much that it scared her. But she'd felt so empty and needy afterwards, it was something she didn't care to experience. Besides, she was not the girl to get off in a dirty alley with someone she didn't even know the name of.

"Really?" he questioned and stepped forward, the mobile still extended in his hand. She made a mental note to check it for any hidden trackers or spyware, but took it from him.

"No." Before he could attempt to change her mind, she changed the topic again. "I looked into the research, you were stealing items from the black market." He smiled.

"See goldilocks, I knew you weren't a lost cause." But a phone's vibration had his advances cut short, it was not hers. "Sorry goldie, but I'm on the clock tonight. I will see you again, and we _will_ pick up where we left off." He turned and left her alone again. Chloe could bet that he'd made note of the name of her father and was going to run it through everything his dirty hands could touch, but it would come up blank. Gabe Sullivan was an employee of Luthorcorp with no children. That's all records could show, Lionel had removed everyone from her, everyone she cared about. No mother, no father, no cousins and no friends.

Chloe didn't feel the mood to be in a graveyard anymore and made her way back to the car, silently sliding into the seat, past the door the guard held open for her and she watched the blur of scenery as they returned to the castle of darkness.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>I hope this was good for you.<p>

As usual, you may collect your imaginary puppies from clicking the review button. They're extra cute this week because i'm in a super happy mood :D I'm serious, if they roll over and give you their 'Pleeeeeeeeease rub my belly' eyes, you won't stand a chance of saying no... You have been warned :)

Xx


	9. Deceit

As you may have noticed, my real life is becoming annoying and making progress very slow. As such, I do believe this will probably be the last long fiction I write. Fear not; there may still be shorts, and I will finish this (ofc).

My life apologises, as do I. I hope you are able to stay forgiving and engaged in the plot.  
>As usual, feedback earns imaginary cookies, cats, cheese, cupcakes and other things beginning with C.<br>Xx

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><p><span>Chapter Nine; Deceit<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Empires are not brought down by outside forces, they are destroyed by weaknesses from within.' <em>–Lionel Luthor (Season 1, Episode Shimmer)

* * *

><p>Arrow watched her leave. Taking a few guilty seconds away from the information speeding to his '<em>work phone<em>'. She'd been mourning someone. Not, not just 'someone', '_**Gabe Sullivan**_'. Who was he? Friend? Relative?

His subconscious was tugging at him to move, half because he was needed by his team, half because he knew he was invading on something private. With a head filled with the memory of his parents he let the negative emotions have at him while he jogged back to the bike. No doubt the tracker would be removed within the first few hours, but maybe he'd get lucky and find a few of her favourite locations, besides, he wasn't stupid enough to not put in a second hidden tracer. Dinah worked her magic well. He grinned and gunned the engine.

* * *

><p>At half eight, Chloe was stepping out into the evening air with Darren at her side and walking to the main building of Lex's labs. They stood tall, proud and scarily clinic. Average brick, with average factory windows and doors, but an odd sense of importance held strong through her.<p>

"What does this one work with?"

"Lex told me it was testing medicines. I'm sure the researchers know more." He folded neatly beside her as she floated into the halls. Pristine white, filled with the hospital smell. It was enough to roll the strongest stomachs.

"You must be Miss Sullivan. Lex told us you were coming." Chloe nodded, a little suspicious Lex had her watched at every turn. Then again, Lex was over protective at the best of times. "Welcome to Paddock Labs. Mr name is Doctor Fenner I am leading the research here on behalf of Mr Luthor." Chloe nodded again and followed, her eyes trained to remember the way she came. It was almost natural to find an escape route when being led by strangers. It had happened one too many times that she had been led into a trap in the middle of a maze; the trouble with working with convicts and criminals.

Dr Fenner looked as much in authority as one could get; she had small heels that still stabbed at the air with every step, an immaculate white lab coat over her business clothes and from the blond hair tied up far too tightly in a completely controlled bun, everyone knew she ran this show. As she walked around she answered Chloe's questions without pause in her voice or her step, she never once uttered an 'umm', or and 'ahh' to think, she had all the answers already prepared. Written script perhaps? Chloe laughed internally at the thought, she was looking for ghosts where they weren't any… maybe she should just ask Arrow straight out why he was blowing up these places… If only she could trust she'd get a straight answer.

Everything seemed legit. Animals were caged, rats tested. Drugs manufactured. Sure, it wasn't going with her ethical side to see them inject a fluffy, innocent rabbit with an experimental drug, but that was all about Lex's principles again. A little hurt for a lot of good. Which if these worked, they would do good, a hell of a lot of good. Dr Fenfer insisted they were close in curing cancer, she didn't believe her, but it was nice to think there were cures in the making.

Then they came to the end of the tour, and a sealed chamber caught her eye.

"What's in there?" The doctor dithered a little, the first time Chloe had heard this, which only drew more of her inner reporters curiosity.

"Lex said you wouldn't want to see that. It's…umm… it's failed experiments." Images of mutant dogs ran in her head swimming sharks in her stomach. Lex was right, she didn't want to see that. But as they progressed along the corridor, she could see with the number of white coats going into that room with their retinal scanners and ID's and fingerprint checks… there was no way that was just a scrap room.

"And this is it. The end of the facilities." Chloe nodded, her mind still focussed on the sealed door. "If you head straight forward and take the third left you should find yourself back at reception." Chloe's feet followed Darren mindlessly. It was a lot of security for a pile of rejects…

"Wait." she hissed to Darren when the doctor was out of sight.

"Miss Chloe. The exit is this way." Chloe headed back. "No. Miss, my job is to escort you here and back."

"No. Your job entails keeping me safe. I'm going this way. If you want to keep your head you should too." Darren chuckled and set off behind Chloe. She had a streak for trouble and it thrilled him more than he would admit to encourage it. Chloe was about to make a run for the closing door when she suddenly felt Darren pull her back. The alarms had been sounded and ringing wildly. Scientists were looking around. It was the fire alarm… or some sort of biohazard alert.

"We're going out." Darren instructed. Before he could try move her an explosion sounded in the other end of the facility. "Go straight out. I'm not kidding." Chloe swiftly complied; her last brush with toxic chemicals had caused the entire fuck up that was her life. "Straight to the car." he ordered.

"Straight to the car." she repeated and he pulled his gun from the holster to advance forward toward the noise of breaking glass and fire. Chloe ran to the exit, but a flash of Green made her hesitate. Was it him? Was he here? So soon after the last hit?

She took the closest passage she found and managed to follow it to wrap around and peer out through the door of an empty room. She watched a red blur speed past her, taking records and samples. Bart? He'd changed… now an old teen with a darker shade of his mouse brown hair in a red track suit. His hand went to his ear.

"Yeah. I got the files. Cyborg, you got the locks on that door yet?" The conversation continued in his ear, then his reply sounded again. "Fingerprints, ID codes, and retina. Wow, someone's been stepping up security." Another pause. "No. I think everyone cleared out with the fire alarm. I don't see anyone." Chloe backed away, her hip hitting a sterile table and causing a clatter of instruments. "Wait." The boy's voice came to her and she ran without another thought. She had barely made a few steps before she was in his hold. "I found a feisty blonde." he spoke to the earpiece. Then turned to her. "Hey, stop fighting senorita. You want to get out alive don't you?"

"Let me go!" she hissed and kicked out, breaking his hold. She didn't know why, but somehow, letting him see her like this seemed humiliating, she just wanted to be gone. But his arms came back as fast as they used to, they wrapped around her tight like he used to years before, only this wasn't for a teenage romance, it was for her own protection. A rumble and thud came from the next room, stilling her fight again. Her captor softened, misreading her lack of fight, Chloe took advantage, jamming an elbow in his ribs and sprinting off.

"Yeah, North corridor, heading toward you Bossman." Bart spoke, but didn't pursue himself. Chloe skidded the closest corner, intending to avoid whatever surprise was lurking for her next. The surprise happened to be a leather chest colliding straight into her. For the third time of their meeting she did not reach the ground from the force, but found arms to keep her close and upright.

"Well hey there Blondie. Couldn't keep away huh?" She lifted her eyes to the smirk of the Green Arrow Bandit. "So you're so addicted to me you've started stalking me. Can't say I blame you." He laughed.

"Hardly." she snorted and wriggled for freedom, he just took hold stronger, pinning both her wrists behind her back.

"What did I say about lying? Don't make me bend you over and spank your cute little ass."

Chloe shot him back an unimpressed grin and stomped hard on his foot, making her escape again. She made three turns and half a corridor before a blur of red cut off her passage. Only this time, he saw something in her face to make him pause.

"Chl-?"

"Sh." Her eyes screamed fear, her name was not something she wanted throwing around freely. Not her real one anyway…

"Oh god… I can't believe it's you."

"Please. Don't Bart." He came closer, reading the fear in her eyes. Instantly he knew what she wanted and he gave her it.

"Sorry. I thought you were someone else." He gave Chloe a wink as he tapped his ear to tell Arrow he had her cornered. Her smile was enough of a reward. They both knew they'd be seeing each other tonight for a long over-due talk. But for now… they knew nothing of the other.

"Com'on Goldi, we gotta run. You can flirt with me later." Arrow's voice came from around the corner and Bart nudged her forwards toward him.

"You're blowing up another facility… already?!" she spat. "Do you have any idea how many people are in here? How many animals? How many lives you'll be responsible for ending?!"

"Listen short stuff, because I'm saying this once. Everyone here is either already dead, or have run out. The animals are all infected and cannot be let out. Believe it or not, but we're putting them out of their misery."

"_Already dead_?! You killed them?!" Her anger was bubbling again.

"Clearly you have no idea what goes on behind these walls. Lex's trials don't stop at animals. He's been cloning organs and destroying the lives of the meteor infected for years. He's got bodies galore under this facility." Chloe's mind went to the sealed door…

"How did you get past the retina scan? The finger prints?" Arrow tilted his head, judging her… how much did she know?

"We have some good technology." Bart snickered behind her, but was composed when she turned. Arrow nodded at him and with a wink he was off and out. "We need to get out of here." Arrow stated. "Are you going to move yourself or do I have to drag your screaming ass out?"

"I'll walk." she hissed, wanting to remain as dignified as she could in front of the man who'd had her moaning against a wall only hours ago.

"Never said walk Goldilocks. Timer's ticking."

"I can't run in these." Her eyes flickered to her heels and debated the pro's and con's of running barefoot. Yes, it might mean life, but her feet would be destroyed by the broken glass on the floor.

"Fine." he sighed and before she could complain she was over his shoulder in a fireman's lift watching the wall disappear from sight.

"Wait!" she hissed. "Darren!" she remembered.

"Your bodyguard is already out. Unconscious, but out of danger." Chloe wriggled, wishing she had chosen to destroy her feet instead. "He tried to shoot me too." Arrow added under his breath but Chloe heard it and felt better instantly, her wriggling stopped and she focussed on other issues.

"There's no-one left inside?"

He sighed heavily, foreseeing a large argument about the last time he'd answered that question.

"Cyborg. Heat signatures?" he asked the earpiece. "We're the only two left inside." he repeated to answer Chloe. She accepted it without argument which surprised him, more so than seeing her here.

Finally fresh air washed away the smell of toxins and smoke and she found herself placed atop a brick wall, Arrow standing before her, waiting for the millions of questions. As predicted it took less than a second before she was firing away at him.

"Why are you after Lex?"

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't be." he challenged.

"He has bad methods; granted. But the results are worth it. He's saving lives with the resources you're blowing up."

"Lady, what you see is a pretty nightlight for the darkness Lex likes to play in. Dig deeper." With that order, he turned dismissingly and her grab for him came upon nothing but air.

"Wait." She dropped carefully from the wall to find him stopped a fair distance away with a cocky smile.

"Don't worry darling, I haven't forgot about my promise to drive you mad with pleasure. But I've got places to be right now. We'll meet again." He spun and ran to the distance where his fellow team mates watched, mere dots against the wall. She immediately went to chase him, but with Arrow's signal a button was pushed and the air split with the explosion of the factory. Chloe instantly dropped to the floor, covering herself as the noise shattered around her. A blast of warm air brushed over her skin, but after a few seconds she lifted her head to see she was far from the blast radius and Arrow's comrades were nowhere to be seen.

When her mind focussed again she was running back to the car, intending to search for the gps tracker to find Darren's location. Instead, she found him unconsciously slumped by the car. As she ran to him she had her phone already dialling Lex… she didn't have any other option but to tell him now.

* * *

><p>Lex remained composed as the locus that was the never sleeping press of Metropolis came to drain the juicy situation for front page news. 'Arrow strikes again', one was focussed on headlining with. The others were working on plays of an archer theme.<p>

Money had been swapped hands and the spot light was forced to shine on the 'hero' Dr Fenner who had 'seen' the Green fiend and instantly knew she had to get everyone out so pulled a fire alarm to save everyone's lives. The papers ate it up, writing about how Arrow would have had over 200 lives on his name if not for the actions of the doctor.

Chloe had scoffed and sat in the back of an armoured 4x4 with a now conscious Darren while Lex fed them a wild story.

But the tone changed as the media returned to edit the next day's news and Lex was back in the mansion away from ears.

"He blew up another one of my facilities!" Lex raged, pacing the room, each footstep was an echo in hell. "All the research. All the papers. Everything's destroyed."

"Some electronic work may be salvageable Lex. It's not all gone." But her optimism, as rare as it was, went unrewarded.

"It may as well be. We had samples there that we cannot possibly recreate. Refined Meteor rocks mixed with cancerous cells on their way to a cure Chloe. Do you realise how valuable this research was?!" He was seething, his pacing increased as he spoke. "This is the last time Chloe. All of the work. The effort. The time. The man hours. The development of the chemicals." He whipped around and changed direction sharply. Chloe moved herself from his path. "How many times will he-" He stopped pacing suddenly, and the rage funnelled to a more ponderous route. Clearly his thoughts had led him down a different track. His sudden stop had his eyes focusing on her hard with concentration. "With you there…" he started, nearly ready to accuse her. But his tone kept sincere and almost sympathetic as he spoke. "He could have killed you…"

"But he didn't." she answered as his quiet asked for an answer.

"Find him for me Chloe! I want him, I want him now!" His inner conflicts were changing his temper quickly. On and off, on and off; the most dangerous of times to talk to a Luthor.

"It's not that easy. He covers his tracks well. He believes he's doing good for the city." she explained, expecting another bout of anger, it didn't arrive. A silent calm, the still after the storm, anger faded to be replaced by thoughts, ideas, plotting secrets.

"Then bait him." Lex was back to his picture of ease, pouring himself another drink and swirling it around the handcrafted glass before talking an artful sip that would signify the checkmate to Arrow's life.

"Bait him? With what?" Chloe got a sinking feeling she was soon going to be tied to a pole screaming for Arrow's help and tricking him again, she was about to mention how that had turned out last time, but his reply came first.

"I have an empty facility. All I need to do is get him there and we can erase this Arrow character once and for all. I'll even let you have the honour." Chloe smiled, but she didn't feel like it. Half of her was saying she shouldn't be doing this anymore; Jolly Green wasn't so much of a terrifying giant as a big softie.

Was she on the wrong side of the line here? It was the first time she'd doubted her allegiance with Lex, he'd saved her from so much, was Arrow right about Lex only showing her the nightlight of his darkness?

Still, until she decided she needed all the information she could get.

"Tell me more oh great one." With Lex, flattery could get you a great deal of places, if you knew the right points to rub.

The plan finalized in a few hours, everything mapped out, facilities created from paper and ink, methods of capture devised and prepared to execute. Nothing could go wrong in her eyes. But she felt so at unease with the idea. It was only a matter of a few weeks before this went down and she'd be condemning a man.

Lex walked past Chloe's shoulder, reading the fake new shipping records, the only barely covered details he approved of. It would be easy for Arrow and his team to pick the files out of the Luthor's lots and head straight into the trap without another care. They were walking dead if they set foot in there. Chloe knew in every cell of her body something was wrong, but was this just because this man had touched her, or was it because of something else?

Lex waved her goodnight as war raged in her head. After hours of wakefulness in the bed she decided she had no other option but to intervene, she needed more time more evidence before she could play jury and executioner. Arrow thieved, but he hadn't harmed anymore. He'd destroyed property, but he saved those in need. He'd saved her life… he was doing no maltreatment.

But there was this part of her, the part that drove her to fight, the part that kept her alive when she was alone. It whispered a sinfully sweet idea to her, an idea that bloomed into a full blown luscious daydream. In just a week she could be out of Lex's hands, out of Lionel's grasp… away from the Luthor name in every essence. She could be working for a newspaper in a city anywhere in the world, her name would have glowing references of recommendation, her bank account would never go sour: she could finally live. She could take a holiday every day if she wanted, she could leave her past behind her and start anew. She could make friends she could keep, she could have time as her own. It was what she wanted for a long while, and she could have it. There was a price… but hadn't she paid also?

'What was so bad about her life?'; that was what outsiders asked at her when she dared to even frown. It was the trapped feeling, the leash that Lex could tug at any moment. He could drag her to his feet if he so chose. He had before, he'd demanded she return to him more than once. It was usually only a few week until she'd completed some task his lackeys could not be trusted with, but then she was shooed away again.

To finally be free… she sighed at the clouded dream. It was already far from her, but Arrow could eliminate that distance entirely. Just his name. That was the agreement. No harming him, no capture. Just his name. Chloe breathed out slowly and precisely. There was no harm in a name, it would probably be some run down junkie from the streets anyway. The more she lied to herself the more she felt the burden of the guilt from her deal. This could destroy someone's life, she could be taking a man from everything he knew with one swoop.

Chloe turned over again, the bed welcoming her new shape with ease. Her eyes cast to the patterned ceiling where intricate vines danced between roses. But the rose had stopped singing its song of love to her. All she saw was the graceful fall of the blood red flower as she laid them on her father's grave. If she did this to Arrow, would he end the same? Buried beneath a headstone as roses surround his last remains.

She couldn't do that to a man. He was no menace to society, he stole for _good_ reasons.

A shaky breath tumbled from her parted lips as her eyes started to burn. She knew what she had to do. She'd be forever imprisoned to Lex, but she'd have no dead man on her shoulders. Well, no addition to sit with her father.  
>She forced her hands to wipe away at her scorched eyes and stood from the bed. Her decision wavered back and forth, but her reasoning stayed true to her morals and she came back to the same solution. Either hand over a man to Lex, or hand herself over. Someone had to lose.<p>

She'd tell Lex in the morning, but right now she wanted something to put her to sleep and Lex had more than enough potions in his liquor cabinet.

* * *

><p>Her favourite thing about the Luthor mansion was the beauty of the night swept over it. If you stood outside you could look in at warmth glowing from stained glass windows promising a life you could never know. But it was the light swimming outside in the garden that appealed to her now, the way it broke apart the dark to light up the shy blooms of sleeping flowers. Even looking out as she stood by the window she could imagine how it would feel to have the night's air on her. Her fingers nestled a glass goblet, a manicure was fading from her fingers chipping at the artistic grace she could never learn to admire.<p>

Her free hand reached out to trace the patterns on the glass, once upon a time she had been so awed by the Luthor mansion, she'd been jealous of Clark's friendship with a Luthor, jealous of Lex's attentions to Lana. But time had changed anything, the castle that promised flair and the gorgeous life of those with more money than she could dream became her prison. She longed for the simple days where the biggest problem was whether you could get the homework in on time. But curiosity had landed her on her ass before Lionel. He had kept her because he could, not because he wanted to. No, he had never _wanted_ her.

Her fingers drifted from the window and she cupped the drink again. Just a glass of red wine, just a glass to take away the sting of the life she had to resign to.

"Couldn't sleep?" The soft footsteps had finally made it to her and Lex would be stood in the doorway with his hands in the pockets of trousers too expensive to be worn in the muddy paths of Smallville. She glanced over her shoulder finding her guess entirely correct, Lex was predictable. He stayed leaned on the doorframe as casual as one like him could. Chloe turned back to the window.

"Not tonight." she answered to the glass, her eyes drawing the lines between stars she could vaguely make out. Once she could tell you of the formations they made, she still could if she thought about it. But her care was gone, now they didn't make pretty patterns, they didn't tell stories of the past nor predict the future. They were just burning gas millions of miles away.

"Anything wrong?" he asked, his footsteps closing in to her. With a sigh, she turned back to him, she may as well tell him now.

"I was just going over the research. There are not a lot of faults in Arrow." she spoke fearing the words to follow.

Lex took a moment, then another. But then he strode to the desk close to her with a strange confidence. "There are other things I haven't told you about him Chloe. Things I had buried." Her brow furrowed. "Things Arrow has done that would get him the death penalty. I'll spare you the details, but there's a reason I covered them up. I want him unmasked and made to pay for his crimes, not shot on sight by police."

"Things?" she questioned. "Like what?" Lex sighed and settled into his desk chair.

"I'd rather not have them come to light Chloe, just trust me when I say he is not who you think he is. He is no saviour, he's delusional and needs help. He's taking stupid risks to disable my factories." He paused and met her eyes. "Why use explosives when a simple bug could have wiped out all of my data? Why risk taking lives? He's volatile and going to cross even more lines the longer he's kept out in the streets."

"He hasn't hurt anyone though." she argued, but Lex just inclined his head making her think again. She knew the words out of his mouth before they came.

"He knocked you unconscious, he beat my security, he set explosives, he's shooting arrows in the night like he wants to be a superhero. Is this the kind of man you can trust to keep you safe at night? A change in the wind and you could be whispering your last prayer. Trust me Chloe, I would not go to this effort to catch an innocent man." Chloe felt herself grow cold, Lex stood, taking the goblet from her hands and setting it on the desk. His thumb returned to stroke her cheek. But the gesture felt nothing like care. "This wasn't why I came to find you." he spoke with a sigh. Chloe felt a chill sweep over her shoulders a second time.

"Trouble?"

"I'm hoping it won't stay." Her eyes narrowed.

"Important?"

"That depends." She felt the road block stopping the rest of the information and went to walk away but her hands were manacled by his and she was held a short distance from him. "My father intends to pay me a visit."

Chloe felt like she'd just shattered on the floor at his feet. Darkness swallowed her whole, her world tumbled, freefalling into nothingness with nothing for her to hold onto. She tugged her hands free and stepped away from Lex, making for the exit to back a bag and leave as soon as she could. Again she was stopped by Lex's hand grabbing hers. "There's a chance he won't even come. Business is heavy in Metropolis, I doubt he'll visit, he just wants to prove his omnipresent hired eyes know where you are." Chloe turned back towards Lex, ignoring his body, especially his eyes, instead downing the remaining liquid from the chalice and leaving again. Lex followed her this time. He spoke only when she pulled the suitcase from under the bed. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing Lex?" No anger, no hate… just fear.

"Chloe. It's nothing more than a power play." But he made no more effort to comfort her.

"It's your father. If he wanted a power play he'd scratch a bullet with my name and send it me in the post."

"Ch-"

"No!" she turned sharp, hissing the word at him. Her eyes felt like they were on fire, lava threatening to bubble over the rims. But the longer she argued the closer Lionel could come. She threw herself into the next task of tossing clothes from the wardrobe to the area where the suitcase was. What landed in would be taken, what didn't would be left.

"This is stupid. You can't outrun my father."

"I can try. I've done it before, and I got a good few months of peace before he dragged me back. I know my mistakes. I'm older and wiser. I have contacts and friends all over the globe-"

"And you think he doesn't?" he questioned with a harsh tone. She stopped the packing to rub her fingers over her temples.

"No. I don't Lex." she submitted, and picked up a blouse in her fingers, folding gently before jamming it back into the suitcase. Her moods were flashing on and off, weak to strong. "But I damn well know I won't be anywhere near here when he decides to arrive and terrorise again."

"Chloe. He can't do anything."

"So what would you call the scars he left me with? Is it irrational that I crave no knowledge of the man who still haunts my every peaceful moment?"

"Of course not. But maybe are you overreacting? At least stay until we know if he is going to arrive or not. You'll feel even more stupid for fleeing at the bare mention of his name." The words made sense in a small part of her brain and she allowed sense to take control.

"This suitcase stays packed." she instructed. "The second he sets a toe down in Smallville. Hell, the second he sets toe in his car, or his plane, or his helicopter, I'm out of here!" Lex inclined his head but said nothing more. A few silent moments passed as she sat seething. Lex did nothing to soothe, just left her there, she'd calm herself down. But there was something he needed from her.

"And I presume our deal with Arrow still stands."

Her head nodded with a violence so sharp he through she surely would have had to hurt herself with the motion. With the need for no more Lex closed the door on his way out and made his way to his study far from her ears and tears.

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><p>The phone was dialled and he sat with it to his ear while he pulled the newspaper on his lap. Three pages in and an article read <em>'Luthorcorp takeover Red Industries after three weeks of negotiating'<em> Lionel would be busy in Star city for at least the next few months, taking over the new company meant firing, hiring and paying off anyone who could stand in the way. He wouldn't even conceive the possibility of visiting his son. But Chloe had an internal drive to ignore everything that read with the word Luthor in. Lex chucked the pages into the fire as the phone finally had a voice on the other side.

"_Mr Luthor, how can I be of assistance?"_

"I need you to be creative Gordon, from the first sightings of Green Arrow to the present, space out some violent crimes with witnesses reporting arrows or green leather. Make it vague and make it appalling. I don't care if he rapes, murders, mutilates or cannibalizes."

"_Of course Mr Luthor, on public record?"_

"No, just make them for my eyes."

Lex ended the call with that and leaned back against the sofa. Chloe would do the work one way or the other, he wanted Arrow too badly to let her back out. The feint echo of her cries bounced down the halls, it had been years since he had heard that cry from her. A secret smile came to his lips before he could stop it.

Arrow would be his.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Reviews are loved. Reviewers recieve imaginary puppies today, and they're fluffy puppies, with wet noses ;)<br>Hope you enjoyed  
>Xx<p> 


	10. Friends and Family

**Previously**; Arrow saw Chloe at her father's grave. Arrow had stolen her phone and returned it to her. Chloe went to see Lex's facility, only to be met by her green giant in the middle of his hobby. Chloe 're-connected' to old friend Bart. Lex is mad and creating a plan to trap the fiends blowing up his 'innocent' facilities. Lionel was thinking of dropping by for a chat and mug of tea, Chloe freaked. Lex saw Chloe's doubts and manufactured her some of Arrow's more vulgar crimes to disgust her.

And then I left you for a long period of time and made you all cry :( Forgive me?  
>I apologise, but life is god damn annoying some times. Hopefully, i'm back and updates should happen. :D<p>

Please enjoy and review if the mood grips you. No pressure. (But i'll love you more if you do).

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><p><span>Chapter Ten; Friends and Family<span>

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><p>"<em>Friendship's a fairy-tale. Respect and fear are the best you can hope for"<em> –Lex Luthor (Season 1, Episode Hug)

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><p>She knew he'd be visiting, but she had no idea when.<p>

Did he know she was with Lex?

Of course; of course he did. If Arrow hadn't said something, he would have naturally assumed.

But, with Lex's security… she stopped that thought as it came, she knew Bart well enough and she trusted his skills. The only sight of Bart was the doors closing at their own speed after him.

She sat slowly onto the bed, knowing in her bones the day could not finish until he had seen her. Half of her looked forward to it, the other half was nervous as virgin in a cat house.

Would he see her the same?

Would he even come?

Was she overthinking the entire thing?

Chloe dropped her head to her hands, her eyes spying the dead phone lying in her bag next to her feet. With a sigh, she agreed that she would have to turn it back on at some point and decipher what exactly Arrow had tampered with. Before she could start flicking through her past messages to see what Arrow could have gathered about her the phone, she was assaulted by the vicious vibrations of multiple texts flying through. Once the infernal vibrations ended she opened the most recent text, seeing the word 'Senorita' and hitting the call button to the strange number, knowing it was Bart.

With a true smile, she walked towards the full sized window, looking out on the grounds below while it rang. Clearly he'd stolen her number when his gang of thieves had turned the device inside out. It occurred he may not be the only member she would be taking a call from, her smile grew a little, her blood warming at the thought of that gravelled voice speaking to her late at night.

"Chloe-licious, about time. I'm feeling the spirit of a little Italian Bistro." he began, his happiness infectious even over the phone, causing her to smile out to the roses in the garden, her fingers slipping softly down the wallpaper. "Open late on the south side of town. I highly recommend the food." The tease was high in the air; he knew her mouth would be watering at the thought. She had few weaknesses, but her cravings for food were too demanding for her to ignore.

Chloe's fingers paused their happy trailing and her smile faded in the reflection. As much as the flavours promised taste beyond her imagination, she didn't dare cross Lex's orders. Neither could she take the guards. She would have to meet him in the Luthor gardens, away from the cameras.

"I'm not really that hungry actually." she lied with apology in her tone. "How about we just take our usual spot in the Luthor Garden this time?" The plea was not lost to him, neither were the good memories both associated with their '_secret spot_'.

"What's up? Scared you'll eat too much, because you know I love you at any size senorita." Bart charmed, already changing his plans in his head.

"I wish." she laughed. She couldn't tell Bart she was under intense guard again, not only would he go mad, but she was too embarrassed, too ashamed to admit Lex had her tied in the backyard like his lapdog. "I'm just tired." Bart didn't care she was lying, he knew she just wanted someone to be with her, and he would be it.

"Five minutes and I'll be waiting my lady." he flirted and the phone cut off.

Chloe smiled to herself, pulling her dressing-gown over her short pyjamas and making her way out. On her exit, the phone kicked up another fuss on the bed. She dithered on her action, but went back to it. The name was listed as 'XXX', whoever that was would have to wait. She vaguely scanned her memory for inputting xxx as a contact in her phone… maybe it was an old client. Still, they'd wait until tomorrow. She declined and turned off the phone.

As expected, she rounded the shrubs to find Bart ready and waiting, spread out a blanket under the old oak tree.

"I don't recall saying dress to impress, but I'd wish I'd made as much as an effort as you have." Bart wolf-whistled to her appearance and she pulled the sash tighter out of habit.

"Cool it Kid, you've seen me in worse." she replied with a smirk, settling herself down on the blanket. The burning memory didn't stay away as she had hoped. The last time she'd planned to meet Bart all those years ago, it was beneath this very tree, for a picnic none the less. And sure enough, Bart pulled pizza boxes from behind his back and cheap wine too. Guilt slammed into her. "You didn't have to do all this Bart."

"Considering you never turned up for our last date, I think you owe it to me to sit down and enjoy yourself." He wasn't sour, just hinting at the hurt he had felt.

"I'm sorry, Lione-"

"Yeah, figured as much." he conceded and put a glass of white wine in her hand. "Don't sweat it, seriously Chloe." He smiled and she couldn't help but follow with her own, Bart's happiness was infectious in the best of ways. "So, how's life?"

She knew what he was asking.

"Still tied to the Luthor chain, but I have the recipe for freedom." She forced a smile.

"Which is?" She tilted her head and he instantly groaned, knowing her next words. "I know, I know. No work talk."

She grinned at his memory and distaste. What had started as being an unappealing topic for them to discuss was now what was keeping him safe and secrets buried. It was hardly possible she could state she planned to unveil his boss, and he could hardly discuss the work he did with the group of misfits. She wouldn't ask, neither would he. Fair.

"You've come a long way from the streets." she admired, taking the slice of offered pizza.

"I could say the same. But we're not here to talk about that." Bart watched as her bite became smaller, her worry flooding back. Her smile turned false, her eyes cast darkness and the lack of sleep shone clear as day to him. "You've been having nightmares again." he accused, rubbing a finger under her eyes, but she jolted back at his touch before stopping herself. She was scared again. Bart's features turned to worry and instantly she changed her mind from the silence she had adopted.

"Lionel's thinking of visiting." she admitted, the first time in years she could be honest about her feelings.

"Hate to break the bad news, but you _are_ living with his son you know." He pushed the pizza box towards her again. It was the special request he'd made for her, the meat and veg combo, with double cheese and extra herb, garlic stuffed crust and a red wine tomato sauce for dipping. It had been her favourite when he knew her before, and from her eagerness to grab a slice, he could presume her tastes hadn't changed.

"Lex isn't that bad." she defended, hiding behind another large bite of pizza.

"Yeah. I often review hell and consider it to be an average experience." he replied, heavy with sarcasm. She scowled, but it was teasing too.

"You have him wrong; Lex saved me." she edged in.

"No." Bart started, swallowing the huge chunk he was chewing. "Lex took you from one prison to another."

"He saved my life." she reiterated, her voice hinting at a harsh tone.

"He has you running around after him like his little chewtoy, while letting you live in the illusion he's saving you from something much worse."

"Don't Bart." she sternly warned, blinking the anger from her eyes. "I don't want to get into this with you. Not now. Lex is a good man."

"Then we need a new definition of good." he snapped back. "He's killing people, you saw the labs!"

"No, what I saw was drugs tested on humans, I saw a heavy security door. Nothing more."

"Jesus Chlo, whaddya want? Photos?! The man is as bad as his father, if not _**worse**_. It's only a matter of time before he does the same thin-"

"Bart." His name came as a plea, soft and shut down from her fallen lips. He knelt before her wishes.

"Topic closed." He reached out, taking her hand and smoothing the soft skin. She was cold, not just emotionally shut off, but physically cold. He shuffled around, pulling her into his side. "Sorry Chloe-licious." Chloe smiled, knowing what they shared was a solid friendship now. The scattered embers of their love still glowed, but there was no spark. They loved each other, but they weren't in love with each other. She smiled and relaxed against him, she'd wanted someone like Bart for so long since she was parted from him.

Their conversation took its journey, but as the nights chill was calling an end to the night Bart spoke up out of the silence.

"Leave him."

"You kno-"

"No, that's not what I mean." He shook his head out, trying to word himself right. "As great as that would be, I know the limits. I'm saying leave him for a week, leave him for a day at least. Stop all the lies coming into your head every hour of the day and really _think_ about Lex. When he's not spinning you a tale, who is he?"

"I know who Lex is." she replied.

"The Lex you think you know is your childish memory running wild, putting a label on your saviour and being unwilling to scrub it clean. You have no idea about the true extent of his demons."

"I know they're worth fighting off." she retorted, sitting up straight, fully intending to defend her life with Lex.

"Why bother?" Bart hissed. "Are you going to marry the man?! It's not your job to redeem the irredeemable."

"Just like it's not your job to stop crimes. But you do." Her eyes burned with the passion of the fight.

"And HE is the sources of the crimes I'm working to stop!"

"You are seeing black in the grey." she accused, trying to finish the horrible topic. Bart didn't follow her lead.

"Grey?! That's not grey! That's darker than the shadow of the devil himself."

"You're over exaggerating."

"And you're _under_ exaggerating!" Bart breathed heavy and sharp.

"Lex is good… underneath the bad."

"Exactly! There is bad there, you can even see it yourself, but yet you still defend the man!"

"He defended me!"

"And one right makes all the other wrongs invisible?!"

"No. Not at all. The end justifies the means." Chloe wrapped her arms tighter around her, trying to hold down her anger.

"He's slaughtering meteor folk for his sick experiments. Justify that!"

"I don't need this. This was not meant to be like this Bart." She stood to leave, but he was in front of her before she could turn.

"No. No dodging the question! I'm serious Chloe, how are you justifying that?!"

"I don't even know if it's true."

"You do. In your heart of hearts, you know."

"If it is, then it's to help those with abilities-"

"Is that what I'm telling the mothers of kidnapped children? Is that what I'm using to justify meteor powered people being abducted and experimented on?! Being tortured. Being used for his own _sick_ pleasure." Barts eyes snapped at her meaningfully. "Sound like something you'd like?"

"Don't you dare talk about that with me! You know I would never justify that for anyone!"

"Then what's so different about Lex?!"

"Lex is… Lex…" Why was she finding it so difficult?

"Yeah," he smirked, but it was without victory. "Take some time away from the web of lies he keeps spinning for you and find me an answer."

"Bart, wait." Her anger fled with his turning back.

"_For what_? You need to see straight. Take your head out of the Luthor haze for a few days."

"Bart."

"I'll see you around Chlo'." And with that, she was alone again. More alone than she'd been for a while. Before, she could pretend Bart was still a friend for her… now, she had never felt more alone than she did at that moment.

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><p>Her heels clicked dangerously sharp and precise down the 3rd floor, left wing of Met Gen, her assigned guard four steps behind her. She could tell which room she wanted before she even arrived at its number. A scrawny man sat slouched in a chair with a PDA in his hand. Opposite, a brute stood blocking the door to the room. Bryan's lackeys doing his bidding while he lies and plays checkers with himself. The brute turned as she got closer and instantly she saw the recognition in his eyes.<p>

"Leave. Now." he warned. The words drew up the head of the scraggy little man and he instantly jumped to alert.

"Eh. Didn't we kill you the first time? Little brat aren't you. Fit little brat, but still dead annoying. Piss off before you take your last breath, eh?" There wasn't a thought in his head he could bar from speaking when he was emotional.

"I need to see Bryan." she announced with a flare of drama and dominance. It drifted past the boys like she said nothing.

"And I need a good lay that I'll remember the name of. Right? So run back to your keeper little one."

"Kyle." she addressed him head on. "I need to see Bryan. You're more than welcome to come with me and listen in, but I need to speak with him." The words seemed to have more effect the second time round, though she knew not why. Her compulsory guard remained behind, relaxed, but ready to spring into action at any point.

"Sit baby doll. We'll see what Bryan wants to do with you. Knives or bullet's. Right? Eh?" He wasn't the most articulate person in the world, but he was efficient in his work and had a magical way of managing a thousand tasks at once. Chloe sat with a smile and the brute let the skinny twig slither through the door before standing before it again.

"WHAT?!" She heard through the door. "Bitch owes me a car." Internally Chloe winced, she was hoping he wouldn't remember that small fact. Then more words. This time more muffled and quiet. It took 5 minutes of her time, but the pale white face of Kyle as he stepped out was worth it.

"Go. Little bitch." Kyle nodded and she slipped through the gap in the door alone with the man who ran half of downtown metropolis. Thankfully, a few words in the car had an agreement that Lex's hired hand would only enter if he heard suspicious noises. So, she was ultimately… alone.

His eyes were instantly on her.

"I heard you were killed." he spoke gruff and irritated.

"You were told wrong."

"Clearly." His eyes narrowed. "You're insanely stupid walking in here alone." he growled. "There's a chance you won't leave. You do owe me a car, and your life."

"I understand, however, I'd like to trade. A clean slate and piece of information for something you've always wanted."

"I prefer my woman with a little more on them whore." Chloe resisted the need to roll her eyes and stepped closer to the bed. He was sat up, a shoulder covered in a cream bandaging and fingers wrapped around a security alarm that would signal his guard to the room. A gun was poking from the corner of his pillow as well. Never can be too careful when you're a powerful position in weak circumstances.

"I'm not offering myself. I'm offering this." Slowly, with a show of hands she reached into her pocket and took out an envelope. She set it on the bed. "Something you've always wanted." she repeated.

His hand reached out and with a cautious glimpse back to her he opened it. There was a list of names 24 long. His eyes flashed back to hers.

"These names mean nothing to me." he lied and threw the paper back to her. She caught it neatly.

"Maybe not. But if I perhaps had another envelope with their new names and addresses and schedules in. That would definitely mean something wouldn't it."

"How do you know of this?"

"Word travels in the world of witness protection." she simply spoke.

Bryan was a powerful man with a lot of peons below him he'd hired for dirty work, then fired for incompetence. Most peons accepted and moved on… but a good percentage didn't see his system as fair and sold information they'd learned about him to others who also carried power. No doubt one of these leaks had led to the bullet hole decorating his body at present. Chloe felt guilt handing it over, of course… but there were two rules she could apply here. One, be prepared for consequences if you cross powerful men. Two, if you willingly do the tasks of a bad man, you are not a good man. All those men on that list were bad in one way or another.  
>She lifted her eyes daringly, watching as Bryan read the lists of names again before finally speaking again.<p>

"It's not worth what you're proposing. You took a lot from me if you don't remember. You owe me blood. I will reap."

"Then I'll leave if you don't want this." But her step to the door was suddenly barred by the brute pushing his way in. Her heart beat throbbed loud and unsteady in her chest. No doubt her guard would be getting twitchy, but Kyle would keep him off her back.

"You won't be leaving until our debt is settled." Something hit the back of her legs and she was forced to her knees, a large hand around her throat. "Now. We'll try again like civilized people. Where's the other envelope?" Her pulse throbbed, panic rose like fire, her throat ached with the need to scream for help. But she needed this; a guard rushing in to drag her out would not be helpful right now.

"Bag." she spoke while she was still able to breathe around his fingers.

"Get it out and pass it to me." When the guard didn't move she realised the order was to her and she reached out her fingers into the bag taking out the same shaped envelope. Slowly she passed it to his bedding. For the next agonising seconds she watched his eyes read the material. Finally his tongue rolled around in his mouth and he looked up at her. "This won't get you a clean slate."

"I'll owe you the car." she bargained.

"I heard you were passed down to Lex now. Is this one of his fancy whims?"

"No." she simply answered, no hesitation in her voice at all, if she said yes she'd either be killed or never spoken to.

"What information do you want?" Chloe looked down at the muscular hand wrapping her throat in a pleading gesture. He took the good faith bargain and let her free but kept her on her knees.

"I need to find dealers who specialize in custom made arrows." He rose an eyebrow.

"Lex has you hunting the green arrow. Doesn't he?"

"Not Lex. Another client."

"Then what does Lex require of you?"

"He wants Queen Industries." Bryan laughed with derision.

"Alright. You can walk out of here. But you owe me a car. Understood? Three days before you start receiving reminders. I know where you are now bitch. Understood?" Chloe nodded and was hauled to her feet sharply.

"The dealers?" she prompted.

"One. Tell Tara I sent you and she'll take you." With a nod she was escorted out. A haunting reminder of her three days was sent with her through the door. She met worried eyes of the hired hand, but she just nodded, told him things were sorted and tried to remember how to walk when hers legs felt like vibrating jelly.

On her way out of the cold, pristine, chemical walls of the hospital she had to throw herself into a wall to avoid someone she never thought she'd see. Taller; older; possibly smarter, but most definitely Lois.

Her cousin was in the hospital, pacing the doorway of a room while as doctor tried to explain to her.

"Miss Lane, he needs to understand that without his meds, this will keep happening." Like always, her cousin had a witty remark on her tongue, lashing venom and ruining the morning of the poor young doctor. On any other day Lois would have been all over this guy, he was tall, dark haired and held an ounce of danger. Enough to excite the taste buds, spark the nerves, but leave you feeling safely handled too. But as Chloe looked on from her distance, she saw no look of lust in her cousin, no flirtatious behaviour. It must be serious.

"What am I supposed to do?!" Lois huffed, and raked her fingers through her hair. It was bad; Chloe couldn't help but conclude. "Those '_med's_' aren't doing anything more than creating some false sense of aid."

"We can only alleviat-"

"Don't give me some half cooked apology and tell me about how you're doing all you can, this is my father lying in tha-" Chloe felt a cold wash over her shoulders… General Sam Lane was in the hospital, and from the sound of the doctor, it would only be for a short stay in the worst possible way.

"Miss, please. I'll do my best to explain the situation." Chloe watched her cousin be guided away in a wreck for a ten minute cry and coffee. Chloe knew she should just leave, but here she was, with a guard by her side and the opportune moment. The guard said nothing as she walked to the room and took the chart from the wall. It broke her heart to read her uncle's name. Lois's pain was easy to understand. A brain tumour… concluded as being inoperable. With no more than reading a symptom of hallucinations she left the guard outside the room and stepped in.

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><p>Uncle Sam was asleep, peaceful… well, until he heard the door close and he peeled back his deeply set eyes to behold the sight. Being a General had given him focussed instincts, a visitor in his room had given trigger to a basic survival one.<p>

"Christ." No doubt the roll of anger in his tone was directed to the over worried daughter that wouldn't leave his side, but he was quick on the double take and every emotion inside of her dropped as she heard his broken tone "Chloe, is that you?" Tears welled up.

"How are you feeling?" Miraculously, her voice remained strong

"Me? Where have you been?!" He seemed to be building a temper which she was sure was not good for him. Chloe quickly crossed over to stop him from sitting up and sat down beside him, her eyes flashing to the doors in a quick beat.

"I've been busy." she answered, unwilling to burden a dying man.

"Bullshit." he accused. And she saw nothing wrong with him at all, he wasn't ill, he was back at the family dinners boasting about his daughters while stabbing another roast potato onto his loaded plate. He'd fire the attention around, finding the weak link.

But this time, he was the weakest link. "You think you can just waltz in here, its bad enough your mother does it!" he grumbled with anger, and reality sunk back into her thick skin. The reality was the only reason she had come into the room and that was simply because there was no distinction between memories, hallucinations and the real world for Uncle Sam. He was weak.

Chloe hated seeing him like this, it hurt her deep down inside. Her uncle was the one to pick her up from the floor and sit her back on her bike, telling her she'd never learn unless she had the strength to take some pain. It was that day he'd smiled with pride as she'd flown past him on her little peddle bike after no more than 10 minutes of trying.

She smiled, but the memory dissolved and his angry confused face returned. The smell of the hospital invaded her nose and stunned the last part of happiness she had.

"I miss her too." she simple answered. She could say little more as a harsh tap hit the window and she spun to find the significant stress on the face of her guard.

Lois must be returning.

She turned back to the patient. It wasn't long, nothing really; no purpose to her visit. But she missed seeing a face she knew, a face that loved her unconditionally. "I love you Uncle Sam" She threw herself to hug him, careful of his monitoring equipment. He returned the hug, as awkward as ever. On the outside he could still pass as the general who made wild fully grown men tremble with a sentence in his booming voice.

Another rap on the window and she was pulling back, pretending the tears in her eyes were nothing to see. His blank look of anger was a mask of the pain he'd been feeling from her loss.

"They think you're dead." He grumbled out as she made her exit. Chloe thought of stopping, thought of spending the time with him and her cousin. But no, she knew her place in this event. Her eyes closed and a fast tear ran in a stream down her cheek, she said nothing, just took her exit and was shuffled in front of a large man as he guided her out and into the elevator. Her cousin's voice was echoing down the corridor, louder and louder until finally the doors closed and the lift descended. Without a word, the guard moved closer and handed her a tissue, the ride down she let him wrap an arm around her shoulder and offer her the comfort she needed.

Lex was out when she returned, but it didn't bother her, she moved around silently, reading into archery, accessing new sources and constructing a few suspects from eyewitnesses. When Lex had returned all she could update him with was that Green Arrow was clever, had an income for his 'sport' and physically fit. Lex supplied her with more of an update regarding his side of the plan though; schematics for the trap to catch a green rat. The non-humane way. She played her role nodding and agreeing, but inside she was bubbling herself a new plan to meet with the green fiend as soon as possible.

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><p>Much much love. So much love. Imaginary kittens for reviewers, imaginary cookies for readers and imaginary hugs for those who stuck around long enough to even scan this page.<br>Xx


	11. Hidden Hero

Much lovely love to EVERYONE who has reviewed, favourited or followed me. I know I suck at replying to reviews, I usually only log on to reply to questions or post, but please believe me when I say they are so uplifting and it's amazing to see such a response from this story. Seriously guys, thank you so much. Imaginary puppies and cookies to everyone, I really appreciate all the support so much, it's incredible!

**Previously; **Bart dropped by to see our fair maiden, advised her to take some time away from Lex and clear her head. Chloe stopped by the hospital, made a deal with an old contact and took a glimpse into her past in the form of the Lane's. We left where Chloe decided she MUST meet with Arrow regarding Lex's evil plan.

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><p><span>Chapter Eleven; Hidden Hero<span>

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><p>'<em>It's a complicated world Clark. Only the naïve view it in black and white'<em> – Lex Luthor (Season 5, Episode Hidden)

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><p>The winter brought darkness as early as 5pm, the perfect time for a drink.<p>

"Lex, I'm going out for a drink or two, I'm getting edgy inside. Come with me?" He looked up from his desk, too busy in his work to really process her words.

"Not tonight, I've got… I'm busy." She pouted on the outside, but grinned from ear to ear behind it. He spun his wrist to find his watch, finally he looked up from the work. "Now Chloe?" She nodded. "Fine. Please yourself. Take Drake and Peter." Two?!

"Relax, I'm only going out for an hour or two. Surely I don't need two men with me."

"Then stay in Chloe. There _is _alcohol in the house." he replied harshly, wanting to get back to his work, whatever it was.

"Alright alright. I'll take two big burly guys into a bar with me." she conceded and walked out before Lex could change his mind.

"Don't get drunk." She heard the order pass down the halls as she made her way to the garage. Clearly she couldn't ditch them, or run away, but she could distract them.

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><p>Easily, she made her way through the crowd of the busiest bar she could find. The larger bodyguards had more difficultly being as agile. She effortlessly found an angry, bulky drunk with a lot of loyal friends and whispered a 'message' to him from the large man in the black suit with the smug look (aka one of her guards) that would be sure to insult him. He stood fast from the barstool, sending it to the floor, the guards sensed something was happening near the woman they were instructed to protect and made their way forward, easily making for a mistaken interpretation by several drunkards and leading to a flying fist to a guards head and a bar-room brawl she could easily slip out of while the boys were busy.<p>

Chloe slithered out of the back and made her new mission to find herself trouble, and thus, a new saviour. You'd think it easy, but it turned out to be a lot more difficult than she imagined. Shame he didn't have any beacon or anything, no big green arrow to shine into the sky to call him…

Finally, she found a back alley with a criminal worthy of being saved from.

"'Ello sweetcakes. What you doin' down 'ere tonight?" He was alone and looked pretty muscular. Sure, she wasn't stupid, so she had a Taser in her bag in case things got out of hand, but with all hope, she'd see leather before stars.

"Nothing, just taking a quicker route home." She passed him and like a predictable magic trick he sprung, grabbing her arm.

"Let me go!" she called.

"Ah-ah-ah, don't think so." He pulled the knife from his waistband and pressed it to her bare throat. "I'm thinkin', you be takin' off them clothes now whore." His knife trickled down to her cleavage with his eye sight, then snapped back to her neck with his warning. "Scream and I'll slice ya." A second passed where she shivered in fright, what if he didn't show… what if she couldn't reach her Taser in time… "You 'ear me woman? Show me your tits!" She stopped an eye roll and decided to give Arrow another few seconds before she declared him a no-show. "Ah-ah, no screaming slut. Buttons. Take 'em off. Com'on now." Her hands went to her blouse, but she had no intention to comply. She had waited as long as she could, there was no Arrow tonight, she'd have to find him tomorrow… and escape Lex's guards again. She only hoped she would be able to find him then, but if she couldn't get away… if she couldn't warn Arrow…

Swiftly, Chloe dealt with the man, jamming a knee hard into his groin and lifting the knife neatly out if his hand as he crippled. She dropped the hilt against his temple and he was out cold. She leant back against the wall, wiping down the blade of her prints and tossing it to the garbage can.

Heroes were so unreliable.

She pulled the bag back up onto her shoulder and started to walk back to the bar.

"I enjoyed the show."

Her head whipped as she'd taken no more than two steps away, but the slow clap coming to her ears was no pervert, no criminal, no teen delinquent. There, emerging from the shadow was her '_saviour_'. "You were right. You don't need any help saving yourself."

"Like you helped." she scoffed. "I can't believe you sat and watched. Some hero you are!"

"Hero. I like it. When did you decide that? Finally peek in Lex's drawers and find something displeasing?" he chuckled.

"Listen!" she hissed. "I came here because I wanted to give you some help. You saved my life, I'm evening the score."

"You almost got raped to give me some help?"

"Don't look at me like that! Don't go all high and mighty. I'm here and I can take care of myself."

"As I saw." he complimented, crossing his arms as he relaxed against the wall. "So, tell me little warrior, what are you going to help me with?"

Chloe dug into her bag, pulling out copies of the files and plans.

"Lex has a trap set for you. A set of labs called Nexus. Documents, shipping records, hardware transports. It's fake, it's just a trap." He took the files from her, though he seemed reluctant to do so.

"It doesn't look fake." he spoke after a few seconds.

"Trust me; I constructed all the documents you're seeing a few days ago. It's just a trap. The back pages ar-"

"Oh." He'd turned to find the _real_ schematics. "Why are you doing this exactly?"

"I'm settling a debt, that's all." she lied.

"I should save your life more often." he joked, setting the documents atop some crates. "Sure there wasn't another reason?" He grinned widely.

"Look, you need to leave the city and don't look back. Lex has a serious vendetta against you and your merry men. If you value your life you'll run." But her warning fell sharp on the large ego of the masked man.

"I don't run sweetheart. Not my style."

"Then I hope dead suits you." she hissed. Turning to leave, but his hand wrapped neatly around her wrist, spinning her back to face him.

"You don't want me to leave." he spoke, but before she could answer, he probed again. "So why are you giving me this?"

"It doesn't matter, just take my advice and stay far away from that place."

"You've crossed Lex now." he stated, drawing her close to him, just a few small steps.

"No. I'm just not condemning a man until I know what he deserves."

A siren kicked up a few streets over, as they so often did in Metropolis. They both knew it was time to part.

"We need to finish this conversation. Amongst other things." He was upon her in an instant, lips a mere measurement away, his arms wrapping her a little too tightly in his embrace. "Next time you want to drop by for a chat, use your phone."

"And call who?" she wittily spoke to his lips, still flush against him.

"I did send you a text dear maiden." he playfully spoke. "You have my number." he purred. She felt her body soar into lust again, the memory of the pleasure he had given haunting her. He must have seen the lust, seen the play, seen the memory cross her mind. He took her lips in passion, wrapped her tighter to his body and tasted her once again. Such a sweet demon to tease him, but she could have been sin itself and he wouldn't stay away. "Tonight, you'll meet me in Metropolis Maine at 8pm. We'll finish what we started; they'll be a reservation under Mr Green."

She chuckled.

"Mr Green?"

He smiled, taking his lips from her and swooping down to kiss her hand.

"You want more?" he teased. "Then I'll give you everything tonight." He swept up the documents and kicked off the crates to take to the short roof before ascending higher. The man had a thing for rooftops, clearly.

She wandered herself back to the bar, dithering on her next action. She couldn't go to him… as much as she wanted him… and she did. He set her body ablaze with something much stronger than Lex ever could. Stronger than what she once had felt for Clark Kent… Chloe shocked herself with the admission. This was something stronger than even a first crush, stronger than a first love and a best friend she sorely missed. But surely it was just sex, she justified. She knew she couldn't start a relationship with him, she knew that she didn't and wouldn't know the man underneath. Had she built herself a false want for a man she just wanted sexually? Would sex answer the question? If she did have him, would she stop wanting him? Could she finally finish the job?

"Miss." The annoyed guards called her back from her thoughts.

"I was at the club the entire time; nothing happened it was very boring. Yes?" she asked them both. They agreed, almost thankful that she proposed it first. If Lex found out they had lost her again, they'd be reprimanded in a way they did not desire. Chloe smiled as they agreed, now she had this bond with them, she could use it to slip away from these certain men in the future. She nodded.

"Where did you go?" One asked boldly. Her sharp eyes had him adding extra promises. "Promise Mr Luthor will not know. Just for your safety ma'am."

"I went to some back alleys and met the wrong kind of folk." she answered as honestly as she could risk. "There was nothing that occurred that Lex would need to hear." The men nodded, more relaxed than before, but the signs of his effort were still evident. The exercise in the bar had seemed to work up a sweat. "And, as for the sweatiness, I think I remember a drunk man trying to hit on me who you saved me from. Yes?" The guards chuckled and opened her door to the car. The woman was more work than they had original thought. Darren wasn't kidding.

* * *

><p>7 o'clock came and went, 8pm was approaching and she still didn't have a decision made regarding Arrow.<p>

"Chloe." She jumped at the voice only finding Lex in her doorway. She stopped her pacing and pulled out a smile.

"Yes?"

"Here." He stretched out a hand with a thick file.

"More on Queen?" she guessed. Lex shook his head, saying nothing. He let her open it. The first picture had her stepping back and paling. A crime scene photo, a graphic photo of an arrow lodged in a man's trachea. "Lex." she breathed. He stepped into the room and closed the file in her hands.

"They get worse." he spoke, trying to bandage over the bullet hole he'd just placed in her heart… "I told you I would not hunt an innocent man Chloe." He wrapped an arm over her shoulder, more resting than offering comfort, but she took what she could.

The file dropped to the floor from numb fingers, images of horror spread across the floor in a mess. "You don't need to see the rest. But trust me when I say this man is a criminal in every sense." Eyes with no life stared up at her from the floor, asking how she could crave the lips of this man. Lex went to pick up the scattered images.

"No." she spoke, determination in her voice. "I need to see them." Lex grinned to the floor of professionally photo shopped crimes he'd had a hand in.

"If you feel you must." he answered and stood erect again. "I'll be out until late Chloe. Take the night to relax." he offered, knowing she wasn't capable of doing anything but investigating further into the file she didn't want to have.

Lex left her feeling sick to her stomach, she turned from the scattered bodies and snatched her phone, turning on the device again. She scrolled the unread messages. Not all had been from Bart. One stood out from 'XXX'

'_Mary. I will see you soon to finish what we started. Until then, if you need something. Here I am.'_

First, she replied short and sweet;

'_I won't be there.'_

Next, she changed his name in her contacts from 'XXX' to 'Mr Green'. It wouldn't raise questions if Lex happened to look over her shoulder at a text, but was detached enough to not call him by the pet names she had accumulated for him. She finished by turning off the phone and sitting herself by the evidence Lex had hidden. He'd done it to help Green Arrow. And from the photos, he needed help. Even children with arrows in them. Collateral damage in his rampages. Arrows in anything he could hit. Not just men in his way, but innocents. She read each report the once, and once was enough. She couldn't love this man. It was too wrong. Too wrong to even consider.

It took her a long time, but she finally managed to sleep. Lex had returned long before she'd managed to get 5 minutes of peace without horror movie scenes playing in her mind. But sleep had finally descended and her screwed up mind played with her thoughts even more, this time, she _had_ met Green Arrow at the room. Not a horror movie in sight.

* * *

><p><em>Thunder clapped to the theatre they played out, rain hammered down to set the perfect scene for a cosy night in.<em>

"_This is just sex." Chloe spoke, the lingerie hugging her figure under the silk nightgown she left open for his desire. Confidence exuded from her every pore. Arrow leant against the wall._

"_Did you expect a wedding ring?"_

"_Just as long as we're clear." she confirmed, taking steps towards him like a predator with eyes on its prey._

"_Not wanting more? Or can you never seal a deal further than sex?" he taunted, his jack-ass persona in full swing. _

"_I can get whatever I want." she retorted. He rose and eyebrow in question. "I got you here didn't I?" she countered and he tipped his head for a millisecond allowing her point._

"_But you don't want more with me?" he questioned, taking her hands as they approached and stopping her touch to his body._

"_A relationship with a masked man?" she rephrased. "It ends one of two ways. Either with you letting me see under the hood." She paused, wriggling her hands free from his grip and placing them on his muscled biceps in a soft caress only a woman in love could create. "Or," She stretched onto her tiptoes, reaching for his lips. "Badly. With two broken hearts." She kissed his lips once, prepared for the conversation that needed to happen before he would ravage her. "Since I know the first won't happen, and the latter is not desirable. This is the only way it makes sense."_

"_If you have me, you don't have Lex." he spoke. She turned to him, curious._

"_You know I can't d-"_

_He rushed her, pinned her to the wall and repeated._

"_If you have me. You don't even think of letting Lex touch you. You don't touch him and you don't ever sleep with him again." The clash of thunder echoed the furious statement, making his next words stand out so much more in the next few second of quiet. "I don't share."_

"_You're making me choose?" she questioned. Her hands slipped around to his leather clad buttocks, the shape defined so well. With a firm squeeze, she answered. "You." she spoke, her eyes locked with his shades. "Lex never stood a chance." _

_He crushed his lips down to hers, the words fuelling his desire, the leather cage of his pants becoming painful. _

"_Now." he growled, "Naked." She smiled, but the time was not for smiling, it was for action and she was too much of a tease to comply. He let out a lowly groan for her, a hand on each side of her nightgown, shredding it from her. He pulled her form flush to his body, her bra unclasped and lips stolen again before he gave her a gentle push towards the bed. Chloe landed on the duvet in just her panties, watching as her mystery man threw off the shades, flicked down the hood and shed the necessary clothing to leave his naked and very proud of a great erection. She could look deep into his eyes, run her fingers in her hair, feel his mouth drop to suckle her nipples, it was so overwhelming and here he was, giving her everything. He ran his fingers down her chest, sliding over her stomach and the dip of her hip line. He shot her a cocky smile and like a flashbulb change he was suddenly in mid-thrust of her, then again it changed to her orgasm taking hold of her in the way it usually did, another flash and it was round two with her nails gripping at his back, again and his mouth was leaving hickeys on her neck and chest._

_Lex would know Chloe belonged to him._

"_Say it Chloe. Say you belong to me!" he urged. She was too easy to comply._

"_I belong to you. I'm yours. I'm yours!" she screamed, suddenly knocked over by an orgasm too powerful for reality. Too fast for the realm of life. Too much fo-_

Chloe woke to a hand on her shoulder, a leather glove over her mouth muffling the scream she was about to attempt.

"It's me." The green giant spoke. She peeled back his hand, hoping it was a bad dream. She reached out flicking on the bedside light. True enough, there he was; psychotic in every degree and sat on the side of her bed like he belonged there.

"Are you fucking insane?!" she hissed, scrambling from the bed and across the room.

"Relax, no-one knows I'm here. Just you and me. And we have business to settle." But this didn't sound cheeky to her now. It sounded predatory, it sounded like a threat. But how sick could she be that she still felt her heart skip around the man?!

"Get out. Now!" she hissed in the silence. He stopped his motions towards her.

"What did Lex do to you?"

"Jesus Christ. Lex has done nothing. Nothing at all but opened my eyes!" She pulled the file from her desk and thrust it at him. She waited while he scanned the photos with a paling face. "What? Can't stand to look at your own work?"

"These are nothing to do with me!" he snapped, aware of the volume of his voice.

"How can you deny this? These are horrible."

"Exactly." he replied "You know I didn't do these. You know when you look at me; these are not me."

"I don't know what I know anymore." She shook her head slightly. Her hand grabbed the gun from under the desk. "Leave. Now." she requested, softer than before.

"Or you'll shoot me? We've danced this dance before Cinderella. We both know the ending."

"I promise you I can change it." she guaranteed, eyes narrowed. Arrow watched as she took off the safety with a simple glide of her thumb.

"Clearly Lex wants you to think I'm the bad guy. Do you keep lacking the _motivation_ to unmask me and hand me over to him?" She stepped back, shocked. Her hip hitting the desk corner painfully. She placed a hand over her hip, the other still focussing the gun. "Yes, **I know**. What else does Lex need someone like you for?"

"You won't understand even if I do explain." she vowed.

"Try me." He stepped closer, tiny shuffles while she deliberated her next move. Before she could order him out again, he had the gun from her and set on the desk, he held her body as she let herself break before him. "Lex is putting lies before you as truth." Bart's words rang clear as a bell in her head. Was he right, did she need to leave? "Leave here with me." he proposed. The thought scared her for some reason she could not fathom and she pushed her way from his caged arms, wanting freedom now more than ever. In her struggle from his arms her top was riding up, her back to him and she suddenly felt him still her with a great force. "Who did this to you?" he asked, anger ripe in his tone, fury threatening the assailant she would be forced to name. She knew what he had seen, knew what he had thought, and knew his reaction before it happened. "Tell me!" He shook her when she didn't answer.

She wouldn't answer.

She couldn't.

That part of her was in a box locked away. She didn't speak about it, she just feared it. It was that point when the scars throbbed extra hard all anew. Shame riddled through her, humiliation and fear came flooding back to join the party of her weak mental state. Chloe kicked and screamed, no care for noise, she placed a kick near his groin and he backed off to the window.

She picked a silver capsule from the desk and repeatedly hit the red button atop it, her hand on the gun again and pointing at him as her hand shook. He saw the fear red in her eyes, he saw the pain, but he was too mad to see the tears threatening her. Too mad to understand why she would be so silent about this. Sure they were old and healed, but who had laid a hand on her like this?!

"Leave." she hissed violently with venom in every letter. He cleared the anger to realise she had called security on him.

Another day.

This fight would finish another day.

He swore it. With speed, he left the way he came in, out the window, down the rope he'd placed and running through the grounds.

As she lost sight of him from her window the door burst apart terrifying her with the suddenness. She felt the arms of one man stop her from sinking to the floor. She watched the black garb of the others run to the window, speaking in code, pointing and shooting at the figure than ran the grounds.

"Miss." It was Darren's voice. He was the one that had her. She felt his hands right her clothing and pull a thick gown around her shoulders before ushering her from the room. Darren led her through the halls, down the stairs and sat her on the chair closest to the fire, starting the source of heat from the ashes that it was. She was shivering, a cold sweat across her.

Lex had naturally been awakened and in minutes of the event had been briefed and was entering his parlour to update his head of security who had only heard his radio's chatter.

"He took a file. Broke a few statues in the garden on his way out, but otherwise no damage." Lex knelt before the chair where Chloe sat. They both knew Chloe had disabled audio and video feed in her bedroom as soon as she arrived, it hadn't been a problem. Until now. "What happened?" Chloe was in more of a whole piece now and had her words from her mouth again.

"He was stood over me when I woke. Asked me for where you kept your files. He said some other things, but they didn't mean much to me. I just went for the alarm." Lex nodded.

"What other things did he say?"

Chloe looked at Lex's sceptical face. There was no way what she had said would explain why she was so shaken up. The truth would have to be shared about that.

"I reacted violently when I woke, he grabbed me, wouldn't let me go. I was struggling and he saw the marks on my back…" She looked at Lex and his doubt of her story seemed to vanish. "He wanted to know who did them."

"What did you say?"

"I didn't, just fought out of his hold and grabbed the alarm." Lex's eyes flashed to Darren who nodded. It seemed her story held up to what he had presumed to have happened and matched with the screaming he heard.

"You did well." Lex gave her a half-hearted praise. "You'll have a guard posted outside your room at all times." His stare stopped her argument. "You'll be moved and you will have audio and video footage recorded of your room at all times." She nodded. It was then Bart's words ricocheted around her mind.

"Lex." He stopped his movement out and turned back to her. "I was going to ask you earlier." She took a breath and stood up. Now or never. "In Metropolis. You have several places you're not using. It's closer to the crime area Arrow functions in. It's somewhere he won't know to even look for me. And, if your father does drop by, I won't be here. They have round the clock surveillance and there's a penthouse suite a block from Queen Industries. Two birds and one stone." she summarised. She watched Lex think for flaws in the idea. Watched the cogs of the Luthor mind turn in the chess game of life as she moved her piece. Finally he answered, a checkmate in sight maybe?

"You'll move in there in two days. I still need some work doing here." She nodded, grateful. Lex left and Darren took his place by her side.

"You alright?"

"Just find me some coffee." she spoke in a broken whisper and sat herself back in the chair by the fire. Maybe the fire wasn't the only warmth of a Luthor, he didn't seem to have as many problems with her proposal as she intended to battle.

* * *

><p>Oliver threw off the equipment quickly and violently. Dinah was lounging in his kitchen with the other boys when he came back.<p>

"Rough night stud?" she called from the kitchen, hearing his violent return. He came to the kitchen door, braced himself in the doorframe and all voices silence at his expression. All except Bart.

"What's wrong?"

"He beats her." he hissed out. Dinah felt the end of their secrecy hit. She turned from the coffee machine she was trying to soothe into working and met the tense form.

"Woah, who beats who?" Bart asked. Both eyes in the kitchen ignored the vocalisation.

"Are you sure?" Dinah asked. Trying to calm the man was not a task she would volunteer for…

"Her back is covered in scars!" he hissed "This is over the line. He needs putting down." Oliver hissed. Dinah acted as she needed, grabbing the crossbow from his grip before he could hit an uncontrollable level and do something he'd regret.

"Woah, what's happening guys?" Bart tried again. But yet again, he was given no answer, just ignorance.

"You need to calm down. What do you mean?" Dinah probed.

"Her back is covered Dinah." Bart stopped his butting in and froze by the door… he knew of only one person with scarred back. And that woman happened to be quite active in the life of his boss right now. "Who knows how long he's been beating her for! No wonder she stays with him, she can't even leave!" Bart felt himself grow smaller and smaller, guilt weighing on him heavier.

"It might not even be Lex." Dinah butted in, trying to see some logic.

"Why are you defending him?!" Ollie hissed, making a grab for his crossbow. Dinah took a step back out of reach.

"Scars right?" Bart spoke. "Old and healed?" This time Oliver heard the words.

"It doesn't change anything!" Oliver snapped at the boy before turning to Dinah again with his anger.

"Well, it changes the accusation a little don't you think?! If they're healed it could not be Lex." Dinah grabbed Bart's contributions with tight fists, shaking it before the angered orbs of the enraged Green Arrow.

"If you won't help, fine. I'll do it myself." Oliver turned sharp, only a wall of muscle contributed by AC and Victor stopped him. "Move." he ordered, no hint of compassion in his voice.

"It's not Lex." Bart spoke, resigned to spilling the truth.

"You know noth-"

"Her name's Chloe." he intercepted the accusation.

Dinah watched from her position was the kid disarmed the green giant with a single name.

"What do you know of her?" Oliver asked, his anger swallowed by the victory of a name.

"It wasn't Lex."

"How do you know her?" Dinah tentatively stepped into the tension of their conversation. It felt like Oliver's immediate future rested on Bart's responses.

"When she was younger. When she Lionel's." Even the walls leaned in closer, questioning the kids knowledge.

"I think it will be easier if you just tell me everything you know about her before big green here decides to decapitate a villain for us." Dinah explained, sitting the boy on the breakfast bar stool before Arrow could shake information from him. She glanced, accepting the stoic presence of the other boys. Ac and Vic would stop Ollie before he ran out. Dinah took a deep breath and set the crossbow behind her on the worktop as Bart began.

"I don't know much. Met her in suicide slums when I was doing less honourable work." He grinned with the memory. "She didn't say much, took an offered bed and place to stay for the night. Next morning, two guards are dragging her kicking and screaming into a limo. Turns out Lionel's got a contract with her or something, she wouldn't say anything more."

"So Lionel did it?" Ollie growled. "And she's just shacked up with his son for some more sick kicks?"

"You don't understand."

"Then _explain_ it to me before my fist travels through your face." Dinah rolled her eyes, it seemed the recent RL65 use hadn't worn off entirely.

"Lex 'saved' her. He got the contract, don't know how. But she suddenly found herself jumping when Lex barked for it." He scoffed a laugh "She thinks she owes him something for taking her from Lionel."

"Lionel will pay."

"According to the news, he's already getting his dose of karma." Victor butted in, throwing yesterday's paper onto the table. Dinah stepped forward and read the headline.

"Luthor battles liver cancer." Dinah spoke to the room. "The eldest Luthor speaks to Glen Anders about his on-going battle with liver cancer, describing his emotional rollercoaster of failed treatments, his family turmoil as he tried to reconnect with his son and his struggle managing his business in such condition. Blah blah blah." Dinah slid the paper away from her.

"Pain meds aren't working. Treatments are failing." Victor added, having already read the article. "He's suffering and he'll be gone soon. Just be patient Oliver."

"Patient?" he hissed.

"Ollie." The word was a warning. He wisely took it.

"Fine, so we get her out of this contract, and she won't owe Lex anything." Ollie suggested.

"Except we have no idea what the contract is." Bart explained. "I've begged for years to find a way out. Last year she came with an idea. And… I've just realised what her new deal is." he broke off. "She's trading your identity for her freedom." Bart looked up wide eyes to Oliver eyes.

"They'll be another way." Oliver answered after a seconds pause.

"Ollie, you can't just skate over this!" Dinah snapped. "It's your identity, it's everything."

"And it's her life. We'll find a way." His temper seemed to have faded, simple acceptance followed. "Also, since your _friend_ is back in town, you might want to explain these to her." His arms reached to a file he'd dropped on the way in and tossed it to Bart.

Images slipped out across the table. Dinah stepped back in revolt.

"What the hell are these?!" she hissed.

"What little Miss Luthor thinks I do." he answered, stepping his way past Ac and Victor with ease.

Dinah flipped back to Bart.

"What are we going to do now?" Bart could only shrug.

"I'll talk to Chloe. Explain these." he tried.

"And about Oliver?!"

"I don't know… maybe there's some other way."

"You're going to talk to her, find out about whatever deal she made with Lex, whatever she's got to do to get out of it, and you're going to find another solution." Dinah hissed. "Tonight."

"Gunna have to wait. We've got another facility tonight." Vic spoke, the room fell silent with acceptance. This problem could be put off to another day, but Lex's facilities, they were needed to be dealt with now.

Victor sighed to himself as the team silently spread around the apartment to deal with their own business. This, _Chloe_, was something different indeed, trapped by the Luthors, playing on the side of good and evil.

His mind went to the Nexus file Ollie had dumped in his lap when he returned earlier; without her information they'd be dead, it would have been flagged as soon as it came onto their radar, they'd be storming the fort without a second thought… just like they'd be doing with the Starnu facility tonight. It crossed his mind that this could also be a trap, but… surely Lex wasn't that clever. Either way, he made a mental note to be extra vigilant and cautious tonight. Victor sat at the computer again, looking through the scanned schematics of Nexus. They would have had no idea at all, it was cleverly designed, it was beyond anything they thought Lex capable of. How long had he been studying them?

Fear crossed him, without this woman they'd be kissing goodbye to their lives in no more than a week.

Who was she?

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Such a mystery is dear little Chloe.<br>Questions are welcome, reviews are loved and improvements are taken aboard with many thanks.

Thanks for all the support so far, I really hope I can keep on top of my posting :)  
>Xx<p> 


	12. Past Connections

Ladies, Gents, feel free to immerse yourself in this story as not only will this be completed (I have a type A personality, I cannot physically leave things unfinised... suppose I have a tad OCD too. Hehe) but I have finished my second year of exams and have a good two month at home before Uni starts pulling out my brain again and stealing my time.

Yes, reviewers I kneel before you for forgiveness again, I have been slack, I have been a bad author and I have been away for far too long *melodramatic swoon*. I apologise for not replying to reviews but they excite me so much I just pass out on the spot and cannot face them again to offer a reply.

Okay okay I may be overexaggerating, but I DO LOVE reviews, the make me so happy and keep me writing faster and faster. So thanks reviewers and readers you're making my day, month and year :D

If you've sent me a question in reviews that I haven't answered I apologise so much, please re-ask and since my hectic lifestyle has drastically calmed, I promise you, it WILL be answered in this space in the next update.  
><span>Many many thanks, and much love. Hope you enjoy.  
>Xx<p>

**Previously;** Chloe passed dear old Greenie the plans to Nexus labs (a.k.a where Lex has planned a lovely trap). Chloe's been fed some photo-shopped disturbing lies about Arrow's crimes. Little Miss Luthor had a saucy saucy dream about Mr Green (*purr*). Arrow saw Chloe's scars, went nuts and Bart shed some light on that situation. And we left off where Victor was reflecting on just how amazing dear Chloe was :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twelve; Past Connections<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>You made a deal with the devil. He always comes to collect'<em>- Lionel Luthor (Season 5, Episode Vessel)

* * *

><p>Chloe was back in the saddle of her work before doubt could spread about Arrow. She followed the link Bryan had reluctantly given; Tara was not the most helpful of assistants, but she did her job in giving an address.<p>

Surprisingly, it was not in the slums. No, she was travelling to a family home in Granville.

Cautiously, she approached the porch with sunglasses over her eyes, shading her from the mid-morning sun. The house was akin to the others of the neighbourhood, except there were no toys scattering the front lawn and the flowerbeds were not of any order. The porch steps creaked a friendly welcome and she tapped twice on the door before taking a few steps back.

"You the one Bryan said about?" The voice was gruff, angry-at-the-world type. Even through the door she could sense he would not be smiling.

"Miss Sullivan." she spoke in reply to the balding head poking into the top windows of the door.

"Come in. Take a seat." He opened the door in a stiff breeze after handling 3 locks. From the lack of hair she had guessed him older, he but couldn't be more than 35 years old. His eyes didn't linger on her, just waited by the door until she was through then closed it quietly. She expected weapons hung on the wall, but it looked like either he'd just moved in, or he was just moving out. Boxes littered the floors in all kinds of disorder, but she was here for business, not decorating tips.

She chose the chair closest to the door and sat down, her eyes watching the man before her.

He waved her to begin and she lifted the arrow from her bag. She'd been in these circles before, paranoid personality types that got straight to the point without any side-chatter. She liked them, it made her job easier.

"Your work?" she asked. He just narrowed his eyes, inspecting the item. With her permission, he was lifting the arrow between his fingers and twirling around the item to investigate every aspect.

"I wish." he finally said, his posture relaxing with the words, the tension fading slightly. "This is way beyond what I could do…" he admired, the gruff voice was still there, but Chloe felt it to be more of a smoker's consequence than an angry man's. "The finish to this baby is fantastic. I use a workshop out back to do my work. This is factory grade… or someone with enough room and money to buy the highest tec equipment." Chloe smiled, noting how he started with no more than a few words per sentence, but when asked about something he actually cared about, he was more than happy to talk endlessly. Still, no real progress. "Wish I could meet the man who did this. It's lighter than a feather." He laughed in admiration. "Absolutely beautiful work. Just beautiful." The topic had the man opening up in ways she couldn't have predicted. Guess you cannot judge a book by the cover… or the first page.

"You don't know anyone who might know anything more about this?"

"I usually just do period pieces for recreations or collectors. The occasional high tec junkie wants one for his wall or for playing in the fields at robin hood. Did a stage piece once, this guy wanted one custom made so he could take a photo for his book cover depicting a golden arrow in an apple." He chuckled again. "But… I don't have the equipment for this."

"If you were given the task… where would you go for the equipment?"

"All over, it's just odd bits." When she looked at him disheartened, he showed her. "See, look at this at the tip." He held his finger against the sharp bladed point. "It's cleanly made, sharp too. This isn't usually what you see in custom jobs, they're a little more rough because of the hands on them. This looks like machine and factory work." He tilted the weaponry again. "So delicate yet strong. But, you spend enough time, you can use your usual tools and get this quality. I'm usually on a rush order." He laughed and continued his investigation. His finger stroked down the shaft in a silent question to himself. Chloe anticipated it.

"There was an electric current or something in it." He smiled as the response cleared his confusion.

"Hmmm, this part is heavier, if you dissected it you'd probably find a chamber leading to the metal point. The outer casing though, not a conductor. Probably kept as a last resort." Chloe pushed back the memory of Green Arrow on the floor having to use these as a last resort.

"You can't tell me anything more about these?" He looked up from the arrow with a sorrowful expression.

"Wish I could help you, you seem like a nice lass. But… only thing I could say is that I'd want a lot of money if I was asked to make these."

Chloe wrapped up their time, his number added to her many contacts. He'd taken more of a shine to her after having the opportunity to study the object. Said he'd call her if he thought of anyone or anything. She wished she had something to bring back to Lex and the guards waiting by the car. She already knew he had money… sure, it was nice to have a confirmation, but it was not a far stretch. Now she just needed to find a bored billionaire with enough time to spend wobbling around rooftops and crafting his own arrows.

She coughed a laugh to herself remembering she needed to start playing Queen soon.

She also had a car to deliver to pay off her debt, her mind added, merging the two events into one nice summary. Queen needed a worse day, and she needed a car. It didn't take a genius.

She stepped back into the sunlight, her sunglasses back over her eyes. She headed towards the car, but the contact took a step with her.  
>"Miss?" Chloe turned to the man again. He twiddled his thumbs, almost nervously.<p>

"Is there something else?" she asked, sliding off the sunglasses again. He nodded and motioned with his head to back garden where he'd mentioned his workshop was. With a dismissing wave to the guard's worry, she stepped around the back and followed shuffled footsteps into a wooden workshop.

"It's not directly the same… but you might want to see it." He unpinned a photo from its place on the wall. She took it curiously. "He paid good money to remain anonymous, but I suppose he no longer needs it." Her eyes looked over the image, not quite understanding his point. She raised her eyebrow as she inspected further. "The arrow." he started to explain. "It's the same purpose; small, not to be fired independently. Last resort kind." Chloe's eyes widened, did this man know Arrow? "Only difference I suppose is that he wanted an injection chamber instead of an electric current."

"Injecting what?" she enquired, her hands tight on the image.

"Best guess: poison." He shrugged though.

"Tell me you have a name. Please. Anything; address, billing details, bank account number, physical description, fingerprints on something he touched. Something!" She was inches away from finding this son of a bitch. The air of desperation was unavoidable.

"This isn't the man you're looking for." he spoke confidently.

"No, he could have easily changed his style, the basic shape is the same, he cou-"

"He's dead sweetheart." he spoke, cutting her off short. "The dark archer that thrilled the press." He ran his fingers down his stubble as he thought to recall the name. "Vordman? Vordiman?"

"Vordigan" she corrected, her buzz lost, but her mind trying to pick up the pieces and slot them in with the Arrow she knew. Her research had already led her down this track, but she'd read inside and out on this man, including his autopsy report. This was not her man. With a sigh, she set the photo on the nearest table.  
>"The arrow though." he began again. "If you change the injection system for an electric current chamber, upgrade the metals… it's pretty much identical. Right down to the shape of the fletching."<p>

"Vordrigan's archery supplies were never recovered." she spoke aloud. "I'd bet my life's savings someone's got to them and adapted them to their liking." The man smiled to her.

"Wish I could give you more, you seem like a good lass." Chloe smiled, shook the man's hand and settled herself into the back seat of the car as she grinned. Arrow was taking his study from Vordigan. Something she could take back to Lex as progress.

* * *

><p>Bart slumped on Oliver's sofa while the others argued about the plan for Nexus. His mind was elsewhere. Chloe. How did she get in so deep? Why couldn't she have just stayed with him? Run away with him? His eyes went to Oliver. He didn't deserve Chloe. He knew nothing of her. Nothing of her struggle. He just saw her legs, her smile, her laughter. Her defences were always up… not like with Bart. But his time with Chloe was over… they'd both had to move on. Forget they knew each other. Forget the past.<p>

_The rain hit heavy as the wind blew through the crowds. The people just kept rolling, heads down, feet fast, hoping they could reach their cars or busses or trains before the inevitable lightening started. It was the prime time for Bart to work. Bart pulled down the hoodie, knowing it would only blow itself down and he stepped out from the store front awnings cover. People were too busy to get home and dry to think of who they bumped into or who brushed their pockets to steal a wallet. Bart didn't mind the rain, he rather liked it, it reminded him he was alive. _

_Bart drifted his hand down to the rucksack that he carried by his hip. Once empty, it was now home to several purses and wallets, a fancy watch too. Still room for more though. He worked outside the station entrance for a good half hour and soon the bag was full. With a smile, he called his day's work over and took his time, walking the back alleys as he filtered the cash from the wallets and the credit cards from the receipts people insisted upon stuffing their wallets with. _

_He dumped the useless stuff, pawned the watch for a happy amount and picked up an adventurous pizza from Alexandro's Pizza pizazz. Meat and Veg; a classic, but this baby had double cheese, herbs scattered throughout and a garlic stuffed crust. The best part, a red wine sauce made for dipping. He'd raised his eyebrow when he first read it, but it was his mission to try everything on the specials board. This was item number five and he found himself salivating at the smell as the box changed places with the money. He gorged on a slice in the pizzeria, enjoying every bite. This was good. Sure, he'd tasted better and he'd still opt for the meat medley above this, but it was much better than he imagined it would be. These cooks were genius, not a single bad creation. _

_Bart headed at speed to the slums, there was a motel on the outskirts that let you stay for a cheap price without questions asked like 'where were your parents?' or 'you doing anything illegal?'. The rain was still hammering down, between that and the speed he was running at it was a miracle he heard it at all. But from alley to alley, out of eye sight he passed the sobs of another human. _

_His conscience couldn't let him keep running. _

_He stopped, if only to check if the person was alright, then he'd keep running, he promised himself. _

_But he found the source of the tears to be huddled underneath a fire escape of an abandoned warehouse, hugging her own knees, dripping from head to toe, blonde hair cascading in a wet waterfall down her shoulders._

_ Cautiously, Bart stepped forward, she didn't hear him, didn't look up. Just kept her cries to herself. She was soaked to the bone. Bart took another step, more confident in his moves now, she needed help.  
><em>

_"Are you okay?" The head snapped up violently, she scurried back from his position without even seeing him. When her back hit the wall she hissed in pain but still stood, taking an offensive posture. "Are you okay?" he asked again, closer still. Her eyes settled on him and he watched as a weight flew off her shoulders, she relaxed, her hands on her knees.  
><em>

_"I'm sorry. I'm fine." Her voice wobbled, her tears infected the words negating them entirely. "Thanks" she added on in a second nature.  
><em>

_"You need somewhere to stay? I know a cheap place. It's not much, but it's warm and you can dry off." Her eyes softened, she swallowed her tears again. Bart didn't need to know her circumstance, didn't even need her to tell him she had run could see it, he'd been there. _

_Her head gave the slightest of nods and he smiled. "What's your name?" he asked. She froze up again, and like magic he read into the action. "You don't have to give me your real name. I just need something to call you." Her eyes were so vocal, they gave everything away, they warmed at the kindness he showed in the simple gesture of allowing her anonymity.  
><em>

_"Charlotte?" she provided.  
><em>

_"I'll call you Lotte." He smiled. "You can call me Bart."_

"_Is it close?" she asked, as he offered out his hand to her._

"_Not really… but… if you close your eyes and promise to never try to figure it out or tell anyone, I can get us there faster." He watched her judge him, decide upon a further course of action. Slowly she accepted his free hand, taking a glance to his face. She saw someone to trust, someone who understood. He felt how cold she was, fending off the shivers by force of will. He urged her closer, not surprised by her reluctance. "Close your eyes?" She gave him another look, but eventually stepped closer as he wanted, closing her eyes. He tentatively slipped her onto his back, the pizza and rucksack still gripped tight in one hand. She was slowly dripping, her cold seeping into his warmth. _

_True to her promise she kept her eyes closed the entire 45 seconds of the speed, waiting until she was back on her feet and he gave her the words to open them again. She was trusting, he noted with a swell of pride. He was trustworthy. He smiled and held a hand to hers while he led her to the main desk. The old man was a grump, smelled off and was a stickler for making money. But he was kind where it was needed.  
><em>

_"Back again kid?" he grumbled as Bart walked in._

_"Twin room please." Bart just spoke._

"_You owe me for the last single." _

"_I know, I know." Bart smirked at the old guy, sliding over the money to cover the night and the previous room he'd had to forgo payment upon. _

"_Room 32." He exchanged the money for the key and without another word, led Lotte up and into room 32. As soon as the door closed she spoke.  
><em>

_"You're meteor infected?" she asked, her voice more stable, but still shaken._

"_Not exactly. But for now let's just say yes." He grinned and winked at her, turning the heating in the room to full and shedding the jacket from his clothing. He slung it over the back of the radiator, then turned to more important issues. "There's pizza if you're hungry." Her eyes flashed up to him. "How long have you been outside in this?"  
><em>

_"I don't know. What time is it?" Her confusion pieced another slot into his puzzle of her.  
><em>

_"7pm." he answered, pushing the pizza box closer to her. "Who are you running from?" She instantly went on alert, stepping from the bed he was perched on. "Relax, I'm not going to say anything about it. Just out of curiosity"  
><em>

_"I can't go back." she whimpered.  
><em>

_"That's cool. I don't really have anywhere either." With a shrug he picked another slice, happy it was still hot and took a huge bite. Her shiver reminded him of her condition and he cursed, dropping the slice back to the box. "Here." he pulled a dry hoodie from his rucksack, it was a few sizes too big for him, would probably drown her, but it was the only other thing he had with him that was dry and warm. "You'll get ill like that. Put that on." But she didn't step to accept it. "You can change in the bathroom, I'm not a perv. Just don't want to see you get ill when I could do something about it."_

"_I… ummm… I can't." she whispered, full of shame.  
><em>

_"What's wrong?"_

"_I…"He watched her strength break again, her eyes streaming tears a new, her words breaking. He sped over, catching her as she broke. It took him a few seconds to figure her reasoning, finding the blood on the back of her blouse. She begged him not to ask, pleaded for no questions. He could do nothing but comply. He ran out for bandages and antiseptic, sped off to get her some clean clothes and passed her the remaining pizza she claimed to be her new favourite. He spent the night making her happy, distracting her, watching the cheap pay-per-view films. _

_The next morning some bodyguards came knocking down the motel door, had policemen arresting him calling him a kidnapper and taking the screaming girl back to her prison. He followed her back, came back to see her most nights. Figured out the majority of her story with ease. Until Lionel did too, he found out about her nightly guest and Bart came back to an empty room, Chloe being shipped off to another corner of the world._

Bart sighed, the pizza in his hand no longer of interest to his appetite. He'd always thought if he'd taken her somewhere else, somewhere out of the country… somewhere they hadn't found her. She'd be safe, she'd be with him.

* * *

><p>Chloe sighed in bed, sleep was nowhere in sight, and her caffeine kick was running on zero. Since she wasn't sleeping and since she needed energy to do anything, it seemed like the kitchen needed a visit. Chloe had all intention of drifting to the kitchen and raiding the coffee supplies, but instead her mind choose the interest her ears had picked up; Lex's voice.<p>

"I'm glad to hear from you." Her motions stopped, who the hell was Lex ever pleased to hear from?! "I was thinking about you too." A female? Chloe knew she shouldn't, but she put herself closer to the one sided conversation. She listened to the silence while the conversation occurred over the telephone. "That's too bad. Are you sure?" he enquired, almost sounding like he actually was disappointed. "I was hoping you could be there, there are a lot of people who could help you get a foot in the business." Was he just trying to flirt for a female's business? Low Lex… Her feet started again, discounting her curiosity in his business. Until, she heard the next sentence leave his lips. "I'll miss your company dearly Lana."

There was more to his words, but Chloe had heard enough. Lana, his on again off again, the one he pined after. She was probably taking another excuse out of her book to avoid Lex again. At least nothing was going on that was serious. He was just reaching beyond his arm span again. Chloe smiled to herself, the unexplainable jealously squashed down again.

* * *

><p>Chloe woke up early, explained her Vordigan connection, received more files about the dark archers crimes and sat in her 'office' for a while making papers add up.<p>

At 1pm, she figured she'd get out of the house, make a payment so to speak. And thus, she ended up infront of Queen Industries paying off the parking attendant to let her check her 'husbands' car for her 'divorce papers'. It didn't take more than a sob story about a cheating husband that had abused her for the man to let her have a free roam of the parking.

Oliver's car wasn't hard to spot, it was the flashy one with the best parking spot that had a licence plate 'Queen3'. She rolled her eyes at it, thinking the licence would better suit a Malibu Barbie's convertible.

She roamed her eyes over the car, it came down to one question in her mind, she owed Bryan a car and Queen had a car sitting here doing nothing, to which in addition she was meant to be messing with him… so, was there anything stopping her from taking it? Sure, there was moral fibre, but being raised by Luthor's destroyed that first and foremost. At least it was expensive, it would put her in Bryan's very good graces.

The problem with expensive cars, is that the people that drive them are too wrapped up in their polish and personalisation, their parking spaces and personal drivers to actually consider how easy it is to steal them. Some don't even bother to lock them when they're at work. Queen was not one of those people, but he did buy himself a car that could easily have its lock popped with a coat hanger through a small gap in the passenger side window. She scoffed at his polished leather insides and slipped to the driver's side to crack open the wires and jump start the car. Within three minutes, she was setting the car into reverse, then passing the security guard through tinted windows as she smiled and drove off.

* * *

><p>Thankfully, Bryan's chop shop was still in the same place it always was.<p>

"Morning boys" she grinned as she rolled down the window to the tattooed grease monkeys.

"Well well well. Belle finally shows up to pay her debt."

"It's a rush job." She stepped out of the car, steady and confident on the small heels. The boys looked fierce, she knew for a fact they carried guns and knives. But, they weren't all bad.

"Ye ye, when is it not…" With a smile he turned to the workshop and called for his partners. "So, who today Belle?" Without a name, he insisted upon calling her Belle, not for any real reason at all, just because there was a pin-up calendar with a nude model called Belle when she first met them.

"Someone with enough money to not miss it."

"Ha, ain't that always the way. Fucking lazy arse rich kids, probably sitting on a trust fund from _mommy and daddy_." Like most of the workers here, they were bitter about chopping up rich kid's cars while they lived in the slums. But, they enjoyed the fact that the rich kids were one car less off.

"You mind phoning Bryan for me?" She needed the recognition the debt was paid.

"That depends, how _rush_ is this?" The boys came out from the back, rubbing their greased hands on the rags they wore as they saw her.

"Belle babe, long time no see!"

"Forget the babe, get to work on the car." The eyes spun back to her, asking the same question without words.

"As far as I can tell he doesn't even know it's missing. Nothing's come up as a problem so far." she answered, perching herself on the only clean section of the paint stained bench.

"Hn. Give us 20 minutes and then we'll see about that call."

Chloe sat, mainly watching the men, keeping conversation as they worked. Nothing of importance was spoken, they were happy to talk about some football game and she was happy to listen and pass the wrenches as needed. By 30 minutes passing, the phone was finally picked up, the identifying parts were being driven to dump sites and useable parts were being set to one side for re-sale.

A tattooed arm came into her vision, a phone at the end. Chloe lifted it from the grasp and put it to her ear.

"I expect that clears my debt." she started.

"Little bit high risk don't you think… a car like that, someone's going to miss it… high risk." She knew right then he was trying to keep her on his hook.

"We had a deal, you didn't specify risk, and that is your mistake, not mine. But, since I'm in a good mood, I'll let you keep my phone number and if the price is right, I don't mind working on behalf of you." A grunt came through the phone, he knew she was right, and from her tone he knew it was the best offer he was going to get.

"Fine. But if I call, you answer!" He always had to have the last word…

"Deal. Nice doing business with you." She hung up and set the phone next to her, making a mental note to block his number at the next chance and change her phone number at the next best time. Whether he liked it or not, they were done.

"Until next time then?" Chloe lifted her eyes to the grease monkey towering over her.

"I suppose so."

"Need a lift back?" She smiled at the kind offer, but a quick turn of her head confirmed her guards were waiting patiently for her.

"I'm good. But you take care."

He shook his head disapprovingly of her life choices but watched her leave all the same. There was something about the girl… her life was just asking for someone to save her… if only she'd let them.

* * *

><p>"Chloe!" Lex pushed the doors open to her room, fully expecting her presence. He breathed heavily and stormed the corridors, calling her name as he found it empty. "Chloe!"<p>

"Here!" she called back from somewhere, he headed towards her voice, only to find her in the empty ballroom she'd claimed for her notes to be scattered and organised.

"Get dressed." Were his first words as he took in her nightwear. "You'll be accompanying me tonight." he spoke. Chloe scoffed a laugh.

"Will I?" But despite the question, she knew the choice was not hers, when Lex demanded, it happened. "Where?" she followed up with on a sigh. But her eyes caught a glance at the clock. It was half eight already. "How long do I have? Where the hell am I going? And you better say pyjama party!" But something told her his tux was a big hint.

"Take a shower, a dress will be on your bed. You'll be ready by half nine." And he was gone.

Chloe's stress levels suddenly hit the ceiling, she had an hour to shower, dry, do something with her hair, do her make-up and figure out which was the right way to wear a dress that fit whatever function she was expected to go to.

Some days she wished she could wrap her hands around the neck of every controlling rich asshole like the Luthors. With a curse loud enough to wake the dead she ran the stairs, tugging at her sleeves and untying the ribbons of her pyjama bottoms as she did. As she hit the bedroom door she let the clothing drop, one hand trying to shimmy down the panties while the other pulled the bobble from her disorganised and knotty hair.

A few 'ow'es later and she was speed shaving under a warming stream of water. But as she stepped out, fresh and clean, a comb in her hand to tackle the wet locks, she realised the 'dress' on her bed had actually meant an assistant on her bed. Chloe wrapped the loose towel tighter around her. In the hand of the assistant was a dress… but it was generous to call it that. It had ruffles… and frills. The assistant gave Chloe the inspecting glare up and down, her perfectly nose-job shaped nose stuck up at the dripping woman.

"I am paid to provide glamour, not work miracles." She shook the dress at Chloe who stood exactly where she was. Chloe was NOT dealing with a PMS female bitch fit today.

"LEX!" It impressed even Chloe that her lungs could give her such force and anger into the word. She heard the word shatter down the halls and reach Lex's suddenly annoyed ears. A minute of awkward silence passed between the two frozen females before a calm Lex sauntered into the room with a look that claimed this had to be important or she'd be paying.

"What the hell is this?" she snapped as he entered, her hand out to the dress while the other gripped the towel and her dignity.

"They call it a dress." he wittily replied. The assistance looked down at her manicured nails in a way that ticked off Chloe even more.

"They call it a pastry." she retorted.

"Then choose something else, but you are going."

"I would if you would tell me what the hell event this is!"

"Charity event. Like it always is." he answered, leaning against the door frame, sensing this would not be over quickly. He said charity event, but that was just code for a quarterly guilt removal and chance to make new business contacts.

"What's the dress code?"

"Whatever you like Chloe, but you have-" He looked down at his gold watch. "-15 minutes before I shove you in the closest dress my hand finds and we leave." With not a word more from Chloe, he stood to leave. Chloe instantly spoke again.

"Take her with you, she's as useless as a smacked ass." Lex sighed and turned back to Chloe.

"She's here to help." Lex disagreed.

"She's here to judge me, look down her nose at me and criticise me." Chloe corrected.

Lex sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What would you _like_ to wear?" Lex enquired, his tone warning her to not start another argument.

With a smile, Chloe listed off the specifications.

"I won't wear anything strapless, nothing that sparkles, nothing with frills or puffy sleeves, nothing in white and nothing that needs heels any higher than 1 inch in order for me to walk. And it can't be backless." At least Chloe knew what she liked, though she always hated adding that last part. Sure, Luthorcorp had designed some cover-up makeup to cover scars but without two hours to apply and dry it wasn't possible.

"You've either find an outfit that fits all of those specification, take home half the agreed pay and keep your personal opinions to yourself. Or, you'll take full pay, leave now and not come back." Chloe watched with a smirk as the assistants smile was wiped clean off her face. Lex paid well, it was doubtful this female would risk losing her placement with Lex just because she hated Chloe.

"I think I can find something." The assistant passed a fake smile to each of the observers, accepting her half pay. Lex shot a look at each, it spoke clearly that if he had to come back in there would be consequences.

Chloe sighed as the assistant left, she had a sick feeling she wasn't going to enjoy tonight.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>So yeah, Chloe's getting dressed up.<p>

Hmmm, charity event... Business clients... why, it makes me think that someone else will be there... someone Chloe might enjoy flirting with.

Woooops, did a spoiler just slip my lips?!

Oh no, I better write some more to the story before I give the whole plot away!

Haha, thanks for reading and sticking with me, much love, leave a comment/review and accept an imaginary zero-calorie ice-cream sundae and chocolate cake with a good hearty steak for main (tasty pasta for the vegetarians amongst you).  
>Xx<p> 


	13. Dance with the Devil

Reviews have been fantastic, they make me smile so much when i read them, thank you times a BILLION! :D  
>I am so very very happy you are liking this. Ahhhhh, love you ALL!<p>

Now, I did say the word 'dance' but that might be interpretted very loosely. Lex doesn't dance, and well, Mr Queen is too busy charming women's panties off (or is that just mine, haha) so... this is more of a business event mascaraded as a charity event. But if you wanted a dancey dance dance, then fear not, the rich and famous are forever going to these social/charity events, there _may_ be one in the future (and she _may_ be going on the arm of another man *hint hint* - I say NOTHING).

Anyhoooo, this chapter should have some more 'excitement' rather than being filler-esque. Hope you enjoy! Reviewers get invisible zero calorie chocolate muffins and banoffee pie (I LOVE banoffee pie!) as well as imaginary kittens and puppies :)  
>(Bribery? Me? Never...)<br>Xx

**Previously;** Chloe went visiting a contact and found out about a clear tie to Vordigan :O We learnt how Bart met our dear heroine. Chloe stole a car. Ollie lost a car. Lex got cancelled on by Lana and gave Chloe the last minute task of accompanying him to a social charity event thing.

**Now;** All three of Chloe's men in one delicious chapter ;)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirteen; Dance with the Devil<span>

* * *

><p>"<em>Tell a lie long enough, you believe it to be truth<em>" – Lincoln Cole (Season Five, Episode Mercy)

* * *

><p>Chloe took Lex's offered hand to step from the limousine, his smile as approving of the dress as when she had first stepped into his sight wearing it. The 'assistant' had been next to useless, but at least she brought a good selection with her. The deep crimson wasn't something Chloe would have chosen for herself, but it didn't look half bad when she tried it on, it looked devilish, sexy, powerful. It was in its own way, perfect.<p>

Chloe's hand rested casually on Lex's arm as he walked her past the paparazzi line and into the plaza. There was a secret part of Chloe that loved these function, it loved to dress up, to show off, to capture lustful eyes. Her heels clicked lightly in step with Lex's paces , ever so quiet a sound, but it drew male attention with ease. Chloe followed the eye line of the first group of business men they passed. It started with the heels, rising up the showcased legs, wondering how far the slit in the dress would let them see. The flow then outlined the curve of her ass which captured a lot of eyes, heels did a wonderful thing to a woman's ass, it was empowering really.

Lex paused, passing a casual nod to an acquaintance he knew. The men continued to stare, it didn't matter they had women of their own, it didn't matter she was on the arm of another man. She was something of a sight they didn't wish to lose.

"I trust you will behave yourself." Lex spoke under his breath so only she could hear.

"Always."

"If you find Queen, feel free to spike his drink." Lex's eyes met hers, it was hard to tell if he joked.

"My best behaviour." she promised sickly sweet, her attention drawn back to smile to the intrigued men.

Chloe stopped herself from jumping as Lex's hand caressed her arm, a gesture both commanding and sweet; not a wholly Luthor act.

"Keep your phone close." he warned, more for her to be aware he would be texting when he needed her to intervene, rather than a security reason. Chloe's fingers tightened around the clutch bag and followed Lex's step up to the bar where they'd go their separate ways.

A sly smile took over her lips as she sipped her cocktail, eyes were still on her, examining her like the prize specimen placed before all the cheater, liars and immoral men of the rich world. Their gaze lingered over the dip in the dress' material that formed low between her breasts. With every step men would wish for the material to move aside, to show the true curve of her breasts, it would never happen, but they would never stop praying.

Women were less accepting, the familiar insults slipped from their lips as they always did at these events. Not that she could blame them, their partners were staring at another woman after all, but jealously didn't suit them well.

Two cocktails, three business interceptions and one persuasion to invest in Luthorcorp later, and she was feeling the boredom . But she didn't quite know which was worse, the fact she was annoyed Lex was ignoring her, or that she found herself searching the room for Queen. And like a giant 'Where's Wally?' game, her eyes tracked him down with ease. There he was, talking to some other fancily dressed men discussing something important and chuckling in a manly fashion… but compared to all the other suits in the room, Queen wore it best.

Chloe swirled the champagne she'd lost her taste for and focussed on that something that was extra sweet. Oliver Queen, dressed to the nine's in a tux like he was doing it a favour. The man shouldn't be allowed near women dressed like that; it had serious implications to heart health. Chloe pulled her lip back out from under her bite and scolded the thoughts of said implications.

Whatever pull that man had, whatever magic he held in his posture, his voice, his face… it was powerful. Her mind, like every mind of the women staring at him, ached to know what it felt like to have his arms around them, the touch of his lips to theirs. His reputation alone gave each of them the thought that they could be the next notch in his chipped bedpost. If it wasn't the dream of pleasure, not the allure of the riches, it was the face, the smirk, the tipped smile, the chuckle that lifted hearts to soar.

Chloe focussed on the features; the smile that dropped a little early, the eyes that drifted to other areas of the room, the lids that seemed too heavy to properly open and show the sparkle of his piercing orbs.

He was tired.

He didn't look like he'd be at home in board meetings.

He didn't look like his was enjoying the current conversation as much as his posture said. Was he just another one of the many people wearing a mask tonight? Sure, he'd thrive off the power of being head and CEO, but… he didn't like it.

It was all screaming from his eyes. His eyes screamed other things too, like the glance to the brunette's legs to his left, the flickered of a look to the waitress' chest as she offered to refresh his drink.

As much as Chloe hated to admit it, the man had interested her, she wanted to be seen by him, she wanted to hear his praise, to be noticed, to be swept off her feet.

The vibration of her mobile broke her moment of desire.

'_Find me'_

Chloe sighed and turned slowly, scanning from the left around to the right. Lex wasn't hard to find. She knew his posture off my heart, knew to look for the shiny bald spot in the room of rich men concerned with plugs rather than greying.

"Ah, my assistant, Miss Maine." Lex introduced her as she came closer. "She'd be more than happy to fill you in with the details of my new energy proposal. Regretfully, I have to shake more hands."

"Luthor's; always busy." She was Cruelle de vil, just without the bad dye job. Chloe smiled and reached out to shake her hand and that of the other business men and women interested in Lex's proposal as Lex made another apology and left the group.

Lucky bastard.

"So, Lex's got some new energy ideas." A fatter man started the conversation again, he smiled as he spoke, light hearted and close to tipsy by the looks of him.

"Oh, when doesn't he?" Cruella spoke again, puffing out a cloud of smoke and wrapping her fur coat closer to her body. "Alright doll, let's hear this new one."

They were shareholders; Chloe presumed, but she pulled out her smile and explained as best as she could Lex's energy plans. She knew more than enough about them, she'd read all of his business proposals inside and out, well, the ones that were legal and on the book anyway.

"Of course, Mr Luthor has plans to revolutionise the way we use energy, potentially removing all negative effects upon the environment and even going so far as to reducing the effects already in place." The audience raised an eyebrow, and Chloe took off with Lex's new solar and hydro plant ideas.

Chloe sighed, finally having a chance to step away from the group that had hounded her with questions. Her eyes found Lex discussing something with two other men, but her phone remained clear.

Time for some air, the perfume of Cruella de vil was choking after a while. Chloe found herself a balcony and leant against the outside wall, cooling off her skin from the heat of alcohol and the body packed room.

It wasn't longer than a second before she had company on the otherwise deserted balcony.

"I was told you were in town." Chloe turned to find a smartly dressed stick thin man leaning against the archway with eyes locked on her. Cautiously, she checked around to avoid eyes before she lifted up the hem of the dress and slunk into the shadows with him. She expected news to travel as soon as she walked into suicide slums, but this was faster than she remembered.

"I won't ask how you got in." she replied. "You here for me?" The man nodded once, the slick black hair pushed back and held with an absurd amount of gel that gave it a water-like shimmer as he moved.

"Quick job. Poker match." he breathed and took the cigarettes out of his jacket pocket, tapping himself one out. "Interested?"

"I'm still Luthor property." she informed him, turning back to the doors again, cautious of being seen talking.

"Sad, but irrelevant." he answered. Chloe took the cigarette from him before he could light up. A grunt left him, but he focussed his attention. "Mr Chan wants the best and he's willing to pay for your services. You have a week before he looks elsewhere." He held out his hand expectantly for the return of his addiction stick. Chloe wanted the money if she was honest, something Lex didn't know about. New account free from the Luthor's all-seeing eyes. A little cash save she could use to get herself started once she'd dealt with Arrow.

"Inform Mr Chan I'll be in touch soon." Chloe handed back the smoke. The man gave her a mocking bow and lit up his cigarette as she walked away back into the light. He envied her ability to walk in both the light and dark so well, she seemed to belong in both. While he… he sighed and turned his back to the party, he was limited to the shadows.

Chloe found Lex again without even trying, in fact he found her.

"You stink." he hissed to her as she hooked onto his arm. "You won't be smoking again." he insisted and she nodded quietly, wondering if he'd push it further, but that wasn't Lex's style. She didn't bother correcting him. A large part of their deal was that Lex was the one and only. He was the only one she would be sleeping with, and he was the only one she'd be working with. If he found out she'd agreed to meet with someone else she'd be in a lot of trouble. But she never could say no to the defiance, it gave her a secret thrill he could never understand. "Go and sort yourself out." he nudged her and she left him where he was.

* * *

><p>Time kept trotting on and she became lonelier and more bored. This wasn't her place, she wanted nothing from these people except to never see them again. Her eyes fell to the exit again, her buzz of being here gone completely. How easy it would be to backtrack her steps and leave, walking, a cab… even hitchhiking was an option right now. She just didn't want to be here. Her feet hurt in the heels, she was tired and she wanted her comfy pyjamas and bed.<br>The all too familiar mental plea came back to her mind '_If only she hadn't made the deal'_… if only…

Her eyes found Lex again, his black deceiving aura easy to spot. But even the hellfire's could be warm, if you stayed an arm's length away. Maybe Lex wouldn't chase, maybe she could leave for good… but the cold grip of his hand was strong. She owed a debt, and she would pay. She'd made a deal and she would see it through. To be free. She dreamed the words. To not be tied down, to be eternally without the Luthors. Chloe felt her heart race, her skin bubble with excitement, a crashing heat then followed- would he really let her go?

The heat started to itch and burn under her skin.

Fear.

It was fear that had her.

Her chest felt heavy, the trapped feeling was suffocating; she needed air.

In a rush for life, she targeted the balcony again, the cool air would help. But there, standing on the balcony like a greek god, pensively staring into the gardens below was Queen. She was NOT dealing with him tonight. Lex could fuck off.

She redirected herself to the ladies, cooling herself under the cold water, redoing her make-up composing herself and after 10 minutes later stepped out with a smile and a plan. She'd find a group of men, play innocent, weave a story about how Luthorcorp was superior to Queen Industries, get some rich pockets to switch sides, tell Lex and get him to let her go home due to extreme good behaviour.

The plan went well… for three minutes. She found herself a group of slightly tipsy middle aged men discussing Queen Industries recent developments and she slipped herself in as an ex-employee that had some 'inside' information they wouldn't like to hear. But just as she started spinning her tale an arm hooked around hers, a voice replacing hers as he pulled her away onto the closest balcony.

"Sorry Gentlemen, she's spoken for tonight." Some groaned at the loss of the view, others just chuckled, ignorant to the fact she'd been dragged off, practically kidnapped.

"Who do you think you are?!" she hissed under her breath as she stumbled after the man pulling her arm still.

"I'd like to know who you are." The man replied in a seductive tone, before stopping at the edge of the balcony and turning her to face him. "Because not once have you ever been called Charlotte. Miss Maine."

She smiled, recognising her kidnapper.

Time for some fun?

"And you don't often reply to Jonas, Mr Queen." Okay so maybe that a tad aggressive to start, but he had just ruined her plan to leave.

"Middle name." he simply answered.

"I am aware."

"Whereas you change your name as often as you like."

"How do you know Charlotte's not my middle name too?" she asked with innocence and tugged her arm free, taking herself to the cold breeze of the fresh air on the balcony. Somewhere away from the clouds of perfume and aftershave, somewhere that stank of smoke, but where she could clear her head if Queen got too mesmerising.

"Is it?" he asked, following her quickly, his hand on the small of her back, leading her to the end of the balcony. She didn't answer, just smiled to him and leant herself against the stone banister.

"So, you've claimed me for tonight have you?" she asked playfully. He let her change the conversation, knowing she could easily have walked away instead.

"It seemed the appropriate thing to do." She rose her eyebrows when he didn't continue. "They were looking at you like a feast, I wasn't going to wait for one to take a bite." He smiled and took a small step closer to her. "Not that I can blame them." he added.

She smiled.

"You like?"

"I wonder what is possessing Lex to let you out of his sight like that." he replied instead. She turned her head to look at the grounds, but he could swear he saw her roll her eyes.

"Lex has other things on his mind at the moment." she answered, inspecting a tree with great detail.

"Then he's an idiot." Chloe felt Oliver's breath on her neck, his warmth on her. Slowly she met him face to face, barely a breath between them.

"Is that so?" she asked, not making any retreat. Tonight she was playing with fire, why not tease it too.

"I wouldn't have let you leave my touch if you were on my arm." he spoke quietly. Past him, she watched out of the corner of her eye as the only other people on the balcony stubbed out the cigarettes and went back inside. Aware that they were now alone, she felt an electricity as his hands came to rest either side of her hip on the cold stone banister. "Dressed like that… you wouldn't have made it out of my bedroom."

With a grin she met his eyes.

"You'd have to get me into your bedroom first."

His head tilted in a sexy way that could only tell her she was in trouble somehow.

"I don't think you'd have any want to fight me." Through the material she felt when his hands slid onto her hips, she felt the tingle through her body. Her eyes closed in some secret pleasure. He chuckled. "Just say the word angel."

This was the lure she warned herself about, this was the spider trapping the fly. Chloe assured herself she wouldn't fall for his charm.

"In your dreams cowboy." she replied and watched the fire rise in his eyes as she slapped her hands onto his ass and gave it a valued squeeze. "Just say the word." she repeated in a whisper to his ear. "Sometimes I can be too much to handle." she purred and her hands moved under the bottom of his tux jacket, sliding over the contours hidden by a thin shirt. And oh my, what ropes of muscles they were, the man had a serious love for tummy crunches.

"I thought Lex owned you." The words ran cold through her shaking her with a truth, but she knew he didn't mean it the way it was.

"Lex is… business. I can go with whoever I want."

"As I see." he answered. But he stilled his hands on her body. She did the same, letting him have those few seconds of thought. "Let me take you out." Chloe could have sworn her heart suffered a miniature cardiac arrest. Here she was, practically offering herself to him, and he wanted a date. It felt oddly like rejection to her.

"Why?" she asked, dropping her hands completely.

"Why not? Would it hurt to get to know me?"

"I know you. I know all men, they aren't exactly the more complex of the sexes." She scoffed and pushed him off her. Her mind offered up her warning from before in a taunting way, as she so cleverly put, the man had an effect on hearts and she'd just let him beat hers with one move.

Oliver let her push off, but she didn't leave, only moved a few centimetres away.

"And I'm the same as all men am I?" he asked, keeping his anger tied down.

"You want me. Every man in there married or single wanted me. I put on confidence I show them legs and breasts and they fall at my feet. It's not hard."

"And how quickly do they leave in the morning?" he asked bitterly. She snapped her head to him, then quickly back to the gardens below. "You know how to get sex. You've probably never been able to keep a man for more than a week." Chloe felt the anger boil, she felt the rage, she felt the sting of tears forming in her eyes. Bastard! He didn't know half of what she'd been through. How could she be so stupid to let Queen so close?! It was like all her years of barriers had been knocked flat.

With a shove, she pushed herself towards the balcony door, but again she was snagged and brought back to his arms. "No you don't. You don't get to run away from me." he told her firmly and set her back where she'd been before, a hand either side of her to keep her locked. "Curse me however you like, but I don't want to be through with you after a week. I don't just want one night and I don't want to rush into something you've done so well with men before."

"Calling me a slut now?" she hissed, the anger shoving down the tears.

"No. I'm saying you've had shit luck with guys, but I'm where it turns around. We're going to go out, on a date, and you're going to get to know me. I'm going to get to know you and then I'll call you and we'll do it again."

"If I don't want to?" she questioned.

"Three dates, then you can leave and forget about me. If you feel nothing for me after three dates you can consider me a memory and nothing more."

"Three dates?" she repeated, testing it in her mind. The anger already fading. At least her heart's beating hadn't ruined all of her chances of ruining Queen's life. A sadistic smile toyed with her lips.

"Just three. I'm paying. If nothing else you get some free food and sparkling conversation." His humorous smile returned and she couldn't help but smile again.

"Three dates Mr Queen." she confirmed already forming her plan of sabotage.

"Now that's sorted, I think I should get your name. Don't you?"

They both turned to the sound of the balcony door opening and a waiter stepped through, looking at Chloe.

"Miss. Mr Luthor is requesting your presence."

Chloe nodded, but he still remained, waiting to escort her back. Slyly, she slipped her hand into her clutch taking out a card with her number on, the number for the mobile even Lex didn't know about, the one she used for crooked business clients.

"It was nice to meet you Mr Queen." she spoke aloud, shaking his hand and transferring the card. Oliver inclined his head, watching her walk away on the arm of the waiter. His fingers flipped the card as they left. No name, no details. Nothing but a number written in an italic hand, the 5's looked like S's and the 2's looked like L's, but he smiled and slipped it into his inner jacket pocket.

* * *

><p>"Where have you been?" Lex asked in a whisper over his champagne flute as he grabbed her arm.<p>

"Mingling. I met a few business men." she replied, taking herself a drink from a walking waitress as she passed, though it should probably be her last of the evening considering the buzz in her brain.

"Did you now." he sneered. "I thought you didn't want to come."

"I got bored." Silence was her reply.

Chloe dutifully followed Lex's lead around the room being introduced as his assistant, boosting Lex's image as he spoke about more ideas for the business. A few 20 handshakes later they found a pause of silence. Lex turned back to her.

"Did you introduce yourself to Queen?" he asked, feigning lack of interest.

"In a way." she spoke. "We bumped into each other."

"And?"

"And nothing." she answered.

"Queen met you in _that_ dress and nothing happened." Lex huffed a laugh.

"Oh, no. He hit on me if that's what you mean. But so did every other man in this place." she smiled. Lex did not take it as comically.

"And the Green Arrow." he added in a cold whisper. "How's the progress going?"

"Slowly."

"And there's nothing you could be doing to speed it up?" he enquired, heavy with the implication.

"Of course." she answered, purposefully ignoring the hint.

"Then shouldn't you be doing it." he hinted hard. "Now." His eyes stared down at her. "I thought you wanted your freedom Chloe."

The reminder hit home and she finished what remained of her drink quickly.

"I won't bother waiting up. Right?" she asked. He didn't reply, just found another business man. Chloe sighed and made her way back to the cloakroom and to find her driver.

Only she found someone else.

"Lex pulling the plug on your night?"

"Good night Mr Queen." she dismissed him without even turning back.

"I still need your name." he reminded her.

"Maybe by the third date I'll have told you." she replied with a grin over her shoulder.

"Tomorrow." he stated. "I'm taking you out tomorrow."

"I'm busy." she naturally replied, not actually knowing.

"Then the day after."

"I'm bu-"

"Sure. But I will get my three dates, and I will call you every single day until you can agree to a time, so learn to clear your schedule angel."

"I-" She turned to him to verbally insult him, instead she found herself pulled in to be lip locked. He was warm and clearly had kissed some sex guru or something because she felt her insides turn and heat, her body seemed to want to fall to him and to wrap herself closer. Thankfully, he ended the kiss before she lost the fight with her consciousness.

"Just a taster angel." And with a wink he went back inside and as perfectly timed as these things were, her driver pulled up and opened her door to take her back to the Luthor's castle. But her suddenly picked up mood was wiped clean as she saw Lex peering down at her from the balcony. He could never just leave her be. The kiss wouldn't have been seen, no, that was out of eye sight, but the possessive way he stalked her movements from above wiped everything the kiss had given her straight from her mood. With a muttered grumble she lowered herself into the car, slamming the door closed.

* * *

><p>Chloe removed the heels as soon as she was inside the Luthor mansion, her feet fell in tiny thumps of hot anger. Her life had suddenly become more difficult, she was juggling a whole load of Lex, some Green Arrow nonsense and now a great big pile of Oliver Queen. She stormed her way through the empty, thundered up the stairs and set her fingers on stripping the dress from her. It was a hot night, her blood was boiling with anger and she just wanted to relax.<p>

Chloe stopped her momentum, pausing where she stood, dress still mostly clung to her. Lex would be another few hours at least… there was no-one else around. Sure, it half crossed her mind to fiddle with the video footage and start another snoop. But she couldn't care less about doing work right now. She'd been working for Lex the entire time since she'd been here. It was Chloe-time.

Chloe turned on the spot and marched back down the stairs and continued her strip as she went. She stopped only when she reached the blue glow of the water, letting the dress drop around her feet as she stared at the pool. The strapless bra and panties were just as good as the bikini she didn't have the energy to change into. Chloe stepped closer, leaving the dress and its memories of the night behind. Taking no time to dwell on the temperature of the water she threw herself into it, finding it pleasingly not too cold.

The skies were dark, the night had taken over again and was in full swing, but the air was heavy, the clouds were adding to the darkness in the night.

It was going to rain, she thought.

And true enough, as Chloe tired herself of laps and rested against the side of the pool she noticed the skies open and pour down their stored tears. She tipped her head back, letting it fall on her face. It was cold, harsh, unforgiving… she didn't care.

"Shouldn't you be inside?" Her eyes flashed alive, she knew who that voice belonged to, and it wasn't Lex.

"Shouldn't you be skinning children for pleasure?" she hissed, not in the mood to deal with him. She refused to even turn to acknowledge him, it didn't matter, he moved himself into her view anyway.

"Ah yes. The latest addition in the web of lies Lex keeps spinning you." he spoke. His voice was grumpy, but strangely jesting. At least someone had a good night. "You never did answer my question about the scars." he probed.

"And you never did answer my question about your name." she seethed and rolled herself in the water, putting her back to him as she swam to the other side.

"You realise it's raining?" At least he hadn't pushed for an answer.

"You realise your trespassing?" she fired back. "On ground covered with guards with guns who have the order to shoot you on sight." she added in a second breath, tilting her head towards him questioning his sanity.

"I had to clear the record."

"Yes, yes, you didn't do those terrible things. Lex planted them." The words sped out uncaring of their meaning. "Look Green and Mean, I've got things to do, your plea of not guilty is falling to deaf ears."

Chloe heard the angry breath slip from his lips. She shrugged it off and pulled herself out of the water. Arrow was quick grabbing her arm tightly, forcing her eyes to him.

"Then listen up Blondie. Whatever part of your humanity hasn't been stolen by the Luthors yet, you tell it to listen to me. You know I didn't do those things and you know what you're doing is wrong."

"Yet I'm still going to do it." she snapped back at him. He paused his assault and dropped her arm.

"You don't care do you?" He even seemed shocked.

"I made a deal, I'll see it through. You're no Mother Teresa, there's a part of you that deserves locking up."

"Could say the same about you." The silence hung around for a few seconds then faded with her voice.

"Goodnight Arrow. You've got about a minute before I go inside and signal an alarm." Arrow smiled, knocking her off her feet a little. "What?" she demanded.

"You _do_ care."

"Whatever you like to think Robin Hood."

"What are you doing with Queen?" That was completely out of the blue.

"What?" Chloe raked her eyes over the features she could see.

"You were with him tonight."

"I was with a lot of men tonight." she bluntly spoke without a care.

"You didn't end up lip locked with _other_ men." And the confused piece fell into place.

"Jealous Mr Green?" she laughed.

"Ever thought of just having one man in your life instead of three?"

"Whoever said it was only three?" she jested again, her mood picking up. The rain started to hammer down, her skin was chilled, a cold settling over her.

"Go inside. You'll get ill dressed like that." he ordered.

"You don't like? And here I was thinking you had plans to make me yours." Arrow grunted under his breath, something carnal and lustful.

"I. Don't. Share." he breathed out heavily.

"Shame." she whispered with a smirk and turned back to the doors.

"I'll be back tomorrow. We'll talk." Chloe's instinctive response was to tell him she wouldn't be there… but… he'd find out for himself.

"Tomorrow." she agreed, stepping back inside. "Night Arrow." Her voice called over her shoulder and she disappeared from Arrow's sight.

Chloe barely managed a few steps into her room before she sneezed. If she'd got a cold tomorrow she was infecting Arrow, somehow she felt it logical to blame him.

* * *

><p>Lex wasn't long to come home, she heard the front door shut and her lack of sleep instructed her to visit him and give him the good news about her new connection with Queen. But as she followed the corridor she became more aware of the feint sounds of music. From under Lex's study, a soft light danced with a sombre piece of music. The need to share faded, replaced by a hauntingly beautiful trance drawing her closer. The satin of her nightgown brushed her thighs as she moved, the dressing gown too long for her trailed behind as she descended the stairs closer to the source of sadness. Even with the door closed she had a knowledge of what she would see; Lex, at the piano, fingers flowing along keys.<p>

She wasn't wrong, she silently made her way in, taking in the sight. Lex's suit jacket was across the back of the sofa, bourbon on the table beside the piano.

Chloe watched the muscles in his back move under the crisp white shirt.

She padded her way to the piano, she knew the piece well, it was difficult, but Lex didn't drop a single note. She could probably recall the name of it if she tried, but it had been years since she had last heard it. Years since she'd played it too, she watched Lex sit there without music sheet, playing it from memory.

There _was_ something warm in Lex, he had a musical talent that could make you forget all reasons of why to be mad at him, instead there came sympathy, something was troubling him. Lex laid his eyes on her, they were tired, hurt, desperate in some ways. Lex, without his defences. But he didn't stop playing, didn't order her out, he was too soothed by the music.

Wordlessly, she came closer, losing the dressing gown and smoothing out the satin before taking her seat beside him on the leather. Chloe stretched out her fingers, found her count and started playing the accompanying part. It was easier, softer, sweeter, it gave the music an edge of tranquillity, an area of calm in the sadness.

She guessed she was like Lex in some ways after all, the music spoke to her as well, she felt at peace beside the piano. Her mind, her troubles, everything became irrelevant with the music. Life was easy when it was a bunch of notes that told your life story. The speed picked up as the songs mood rose and she dutifully kept pace with Lex. The music slowly climaxed, taking her emotions with it.

Lionel had once told her the story behind this piece, two lovers, torn apart by circumstance. But wasn't every tragedy along those lines? But this one was something more special. In her youth she had just labelled it as sad and moved on, it was deeper now. Now she had a place in someone's life. A lover of her own to think abo- her mind woke from the music, her fingers stumbling over the keys and halting on the piano. It seemed music wasn't the answer to all her problems. She cursed herself, as soon as her mind had free roam and got onto the topic of love and lust three heads appeared. Lex, Arrow and Oliver. She was in over her head. Maybe Arrow was right, she had too many men in her life.

Lex's playing ceased and his eyes searched hers. Of course it was Lex she was thinking of, she forced herself to answer. Lex was the only constant in her life. He saved her from his own father for God's sake. He'd always been here. He was… Chloe felt unable to find any word to describe her connection to Lex. Instead of trying she turned to the man, intending to ask of his night, what had caused his troubles? But Lex's eyes were deep with something more than trickery and deceit… he looked sad. His hand raised from the keys and touched her face, gentle, almost a ghost. Did he fear rejection like his touch spoke of? Chloe nudged herself into his hand, her eyes closed and she finally could breathe as his fingers raised a trail of an electric fire in their wake. His hands became more confident after a heartbeat of touch, they slithered to her neck and pulled her to crash against him, taking her lips as her eyes flashed open in surprise.

Chloe felt her insides spike with the question of if this was right or wrong. But who was causing all these questions, this was just sex. Lex clearly needed some physical comfort, and Chloe wouldn't turn down the touch of a man who cared for her like he did. Arrow belonged in the shadows, he could never offer her anything more than a rough fuck. Queen lived in the light, he wanted to love her. Lex… Lex was somewhere between, like herself. He was love when she wanted it, sex when she needed it and everything else in between.

Chloe closed her eyes and put her desire back into the returning kiss. Arrow was a job, Queen was a job, Lex was reality, he was safety, he was her calm in the storm. Chloe's hands fumbled across Lex's shirt, his own hands busy on her thighs pulling her closer.

The piano's keys sounded at random, a foot in the wrong place, a desperate hand looking for a place to grip, a belt dropped at the wrong time. Echoes of pleasure accompanied the clusters of notes; the music of raw passion and need.

* * *

><p>It must have been the food, she concluded as she knelt next to the toilet, her stomach swimming as she begged the gods yet again to stop the ache. Maybe it was the alcohol… she didn't usually get this bad. But events were never usually that stressful…<p>

Her head wasn't that bad… then again it never was.

Another wave of nausea hit her and she leaned closer again. Her stomach pulled tighter, the contents of last night making another appearance from her throat.

Her eyes watered under the strain, her throat scratched and burned again. If Arrow was right, if she'd caught some violent bug from standing outside with him she was going to kill him.

"Always a lady." Chloe felt like throwing something at the pretentious voice coming from her doorway. A quick glance around had nothing solid around her, so she lost the idea.

"Go away." she groaned.

"Are you pregnant?" Lex's voice followed, the cold question emotionless. Chloe narrowed her eyes at porcelain throne and she turned back to see the accuser.

Last night was nothing, her mind echoed.

"No." she hissed, trying to stop the wave of sickness that threatened to hit.

"You'll take a test."

"I said no." Her dark mood seemed to be making an appearance all day.

"You'll still take it."

Chloe turned away from Lex's dark posture and held back the violent retort. "If it's positive you'll abort." Chloe already knew the response that came.

"I know." She weakly answered when his presence didn't fade.

"We have an agree-"

"I KNOW!" she snapped at him, her eyes glaring sharply with hatred at his. Her gaze stayed locked on his challenging another word to leave his mouth. With nothing more than a snap of his own eyes, he turned and left her to be. A parting word left his lips but her gag reflex was overcome yet again and his words were drowned out by the curse of last night coming back to her violent and annoyingly harsh.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>:O<p>

:O

:O

I wouldn't?! ... Would I?!  
>Xx<p> 


	14. Making Arrangements

Reviews are amazing! And the amount of favourites and alerts this story has got is blowing my mind :D  
>Thank you, seriously thank you.<p>

I wish I could rewards you with an awesome chapter, but sadly this is mostly filler. However, I have got two other chapters that are ready for posting (I've been a busy writing bee) and they will be up in the next two weeks and _will_ be very much so more exciting for you.  
>Hope you stick with me, and enjoy the chapter.<br>Xx

**Previously;** Lex bossed Chloe around at a boring social event/business contact making party. Chloe felt lusty feelings for Mr Queen. Lex was bossy and well... a bad man! Chloe made a deal with a slick stick of a dark man to work for Mr Chan (it's all very mysterious). Queen dragged her onto the balcony. Flirtacious banter. Pulses raising! Lustful eyes! :O And she agrees to three dates with Mr Queen and he drops her a sneaky kiss at the end. More banter with Arrow. (I enjoy my banter scenes). Sex with Lex in his glum mood, and then some violent puking the next morning to the all important question; Chloe: Pregnant?!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Fourteen; Making Arrangements<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>It's a Latin name 'formositas falsus'; beauty that belies a dark nature' <em>

'_So even your plants have hidden agendas'_ – Lex Luthor & Clark Kent (Season Six, Episode Wither )

* * *

><p>True to word, a pregnancy test was on her bed by the afternoon. Chloe rolled her eyes, there was no way Lex could ever step up as a parent. Not that she'd ever ask. She'd be the first to the abortion clinic as soon as she knew.<p>

Was she pregnant?

No.

She had the implant as soon as she started dabbling in a sex life, the last thing she wanted was to bring a child into her world, there wasn't enough love surrounding her life to introduce something like a baby.

She ran through shadows and hid behind walls… babies weren't in her future.

Still, she went through the motions, giving Lex the definitive proof he needed. As expected it came back negative. Part of her was slightly upset, but it was for the greater good.

She sat herself on the bed and slowly something else began to creep forward. What if it wasn't Lex… what if it was-

Green Arrow came front and centre. She laughed it off, but the thought still stayed. The thought turned to a plot. If only she'd slept with him, she could pretend she was carrying his child. With a smile she took a laugh to her own genius. She didn't know how he'd react, but it would be one way to lure him out of the shadows, even to guilt him into his own parentage. Would he even step up to the mark? A tad cruel though… too much commitment and deceit for her liking…

Oliver Queen? Sure there was sexual attraction, sure she could see herself wrapped around the man… but he was an alpha male like Lex, he was business first, bedding multiple women second. He probably had some clause from his lawyers that automatically forced an abortion upon any of his conquests that were threatened with motherhood. That was just the way men like Lex thought. Queen would be no different.

She laughed pitifully at herself; her best chance for mothering was with a masked vigilante. A scoff left her lips and she left the entire idea behind her. She had overdone the alcohol, that's all. Lex had made this more than what it needed to be. Still, he had assets to protect, ensuring no child's life would be sucking his funds unless they'll been planned and written in a clause his lawyers could give him control of.

Tablets had soothed the stomach pains, toothpaste had obliterated the terrible taste, a shower had cured the general icky feeling but now she was filled with an emptiness. Lex gave her the day to move to the big city, and 'finish' some stuff. She supposed she should fill her day with things she may miss about the Luthor mansion. Plus, the high-handedness issue was grating on her a little.

With an idea in mind, she swapped the baggy clothes for a simple gym kit and hit the mats with a spare body guard, throwing punches to the padded targets he held high and low. Just as the sweat was building and washing away the tension, Lex appeared in the corner of her eye. She stopped violently and whirled to him.

"I took the test and like I said; I'm not." she hissed, the anger suddenly flooding her system again, the unexpected guard found himself bringing the pads back up again as she submerged herself in the exercise.

"As expected." he spoke, stood where he was before, not moving an inch at her outburst.

She dropped her punches again, in favour of turning to him with anger.

"As expected?!" she hissed. "You came in, making all these demands to protect yourself. If you expected this, you wouldn't have needed such demands." Lex nodded to the guard and he bowed himself out of the room politely.

"Merely a precaution. No offense was meant. You're taking this the wrong way Chloe."

"Damn fucking right I am." she muttered in disregard under her breath. Lex didn't even try to act like he heard.

"Before you leave, I need updates to Queen, I need a summary of where we are with Arrow and I need to discuss the terms of your leave with you."

"The _terms of my leave_?" she repeated. "We've already agreed I'm going to be in the city… you can't withdraw that because I don't agree to one of your stupid demands."

"Chloe. Drop the temper." he ordered with authority and boredom. She grated her teeth, but sucked back in her retort. Bart's words rattled around in her brain; just who was Lex when she got a clear look at him. Today she seemed to see nothing but annoyance from him.

"We'll discuss." she permitted. "They'll be an agreement that can suit us. As for Queen and Arrow, I'll give you a rundown of what I have in an hour."  
>Lex's instant reply was to tell her she'd do it now, not in an hour. But considering her current mood, he wisely stopped the words and turned out of the arena.<p>

Chloe sighed, knowing he was giving her the hour out of kindness, when he could rather have just demanded she did it now. She smiled and met the confused guard as Lex sent him back in.

"Again." she declared to him and her fists went to his targets as they danced across the floor.

* * *

><p>"Let's start with Queen." Lex called up to the balcony where Chloe sat with his books open, her notes on Green Arrow around her.<p>

"It's already on your desktop and printed out." she dismissed with a wave and an edge of annoyance in her tone. Not that she was still mad at him, no, she was just focussed and thought she had something that was leading somewhere, interruptions were scaring the thoughts away.

Lex left her for the next few minutes while he scanned the paper copies and then the files on his desktop. It wasn't long before his lips parted again.

"Ch-"

"It's for the apartment." she answered, knowing his question. She'd put a link on his desktop for the video surveillance of his loft. "I know you'll just get someone else to get it otherwise." she elaborated, before he could ask why.

Lex raised an eyebrow almost approvingly, the girl knew him, that much could be said.

Of course, Chloe had the master surveillance software on her laptop, unbeknownst to Lex she could alter the feed if she wished for clandestine meetings in private. But that would not be in her report…

"Good." he praised very lightly. "Queen's papers are all here?" Chloe put down her pen and turned her attention back to Lex to explain what she had for him.

"Print outs include his finances for credit cards and for his business card. There's a report of a collective Queen Industries finance structure, input, output. From the cleaning crew to the CEO's new swivel chair." she mocked. "Staff rosters are as of yesterday including department, pay grade, years worked and family situation. I even took the liberty of following the recent news stories of Queen, but he's been away from his conquests for a while. It seems mostly about Green Arrow." she paused, looking down at her papers. "But, the rest are mostly self-explanatory. I can try another video feed bug from here, but he's probably looking for it, and I won't be able to successfully plant it for longer than an hour."

"That won't be necessary. I'm sure you'll be able to drop by in person."

"I won't be planting bugs for you though. It's highly suspicious if he suddenly takes a female to work and then finds a bug in his office…"

"Then either make it so he doesn't find it, or breach his security in some other way."

"Or, just trust me to do some snooping and I'll report back anything I find that's relevant." Lex accepted without much of a fight.

"And otherwise, you'll be keeping him busy?" he enquired seating himself on the edge of his desk, the finance report seeming to be more interesting that her answer.

"I caught his attention. I have a guaranteed three dates at the very least. That's more than enough to work with. He'll be so busy he can't breathe." she laughed lightly, her own eyes busy with the paper before her, rather than the conversation.

"Hm." Lex uttered, scanning the rest of the page with interest before putting it aside. "Three dates? When's the first?"

Chloe's attention took a few seconds to re-wire to speech from reading, but she replied as well as Lex wanted.

"Undecided, but tomorrow looks good."

"And Green Arrow, what progress do you have?" Lex's eyes focussed on Chloe though her thought had been captured by documents, only murmurs of vocalisation coming to his ears.

"I think I might have something…" Her lack of confidence in her results faded with each second though. She was almost _sure_ she had something. "I was reviewing what we knew, and I think we may have something to work with." She looked back to her work, the words slipping free her thoughts. "Actually, I think I was going about this in entirely the wrong way." Her laptop screen flashed up a new document and she started mumbling away as it gained her attention.

"Chloe." Lex tried to call back her attention, but he ended up taking the stairs to see the genius in her working environment. As he got up there, he much preferred his place below where he saw no mess of papers spread out like a second floor over his mahogany.

"Look." And a single sheet of acclimated research was passed up to him. Lex sighed and glanced up and down, pushing the paper further and closer. Her handwriting was terrible when she was claimed by brilliance. He passed it back for translation. "Seriously Lex?" she questioned, looking at the offending paper he was giving her back. "You'd think by now you'd be able to read my handwriting." But she accepted the paper back to her pile.

"I doubt even a hieroglyphics expert could distinguish a message in your scribbling." he muttered, pushing a stack of papers further across so he could perch on the edge of the nearby table. "Do we have something or not Chloe?"

"Patience Lex." she reprimanded, squinting to figure out if her word started with F or E… maybe Lex was right about her handwriting. "Cold hard facts are limited, but work with me here." Lex rose an eyebrow, seriously considering the walk up here a waste of his time. "I asked myself what we knew."

She shuffled around to face him slightly, her attention still claimed partly by the laptop. "We know he's late 20's to mid 30's. He's a he. He favours bows, but modernises them to his liking." Chloe then let the new fact she'd learnt vocalise. "The style is almost identical to the 'dark archer' Vordigan. But, as Vordigan is dead, we could be looking at protégé or maybe even a relative. Son maybe."

"This is speculation." Lex interrupted in her natural pause. Chloe narrowed her eyes at him, but carried on unperturbed.

"He wears a voice distorter, so he's either in the public eye, or just over protective. He's had training and probably got himself a bored billionaire to support his activities in on the gig."

"Next you'll be telling me Oliver Queen is playing masked bandits with them to live out a childish fantasy of robin hood." Lex scoffed, standing from his place, finishing the conversation. Chloe raised her volume a little showing she was not finished.

"He works with a group, so he's not got any serious mental problems. He's not a psychopath, so he can be reasoned with. He's a team player and they've had a lot of practice. But he can still work alone, which is when he is best to target." Chloe paused, a fleeting look passed to Lex before she continued. "His crimes can range from saving people to destroying lives, he has no limits, but all of these crimes are done when he's alone, so he _can_ be controlled when in a group."

"How does this help?" Lex asked, sceptical as always.

"Well, that determines the best time to strike. If he's alone we could be dealing with a lot of damage and no restraint, so it would be better to target him in a group setting… except we'd have to be able to manage the rest of the group to do it."

"That doesn't exactly help."

"It's better than nothing." she argued, pushing away one paper and reaching for another. Lex made to stop her before this took a trip into wonderland.

"Look, Chloe, th-"

"Let me finish." she interrupted, a glare to her eyes. "Another two minutes of your time, and then you can walk away." Lex sighed heavily, but sat himself back upon the table edge.

He motioned his hand, waving forward the damn hormonal female. "Alright, so, I put myself in his expensive leather boots. He'd need motive. It's not money, he may steal from the rich, but he isn't re-selling, despite the price tag on a few of these items. Maybe it's Vordigan passing down some principles of right and wrong, due to the nature of the items being black market."

"And my business he seems determined to take down?" Lex interceded. Chloe smiled.

"Revenge." she offered. "Maybe he had something taken from him, maybe some rich man came up living it up in a big mansion and his inbuilding grudge against these rich people combined with his new skills in theft have developed into some revenge plot in his mind."

"Guesses." he spoke. Chloe's eyes silenced his statement.

"So, I have my motive. Whatever it may be. But I need training for my bow addiction. I need my ammunition specially crafted. I want the best of the best, including a tailor to work with my sexual fetishes." Lex chuckled beneath his sigh. "I want the best voice distorter I can rely upon to hide my identity. I can flash the cash and not be questioned. I can hit in both daylight and nighttime, so I'm either unemployed and entirely supported by the billionaire, or, I have a flexible day job. Working from home maybe." she offered on the spot, her brain kicking up further into the ideas that swam. "This-" She handed a print out to Lex "Is a list of all registered archery ranges within two miles of any place where he's been sited. We're assuming he's local from the nature of the sightings and speed of response to the few crimes he does intercede. This-" Another booklet of papers found its way to Lex, followed by another sheet. "Is a list of places that train martial arts, and I mean ALL forms of martial arts, both private numbers and studios. And the last page is a list of expensive tailors within the same mile parameter."

"There's a lot here Chloe. You're wasting time."

"It's a shot. A shot that some names will match. I'll visit the high end places, ask for the best customer, best shot, weirdest requests, person flashing cash; the usual vigilante behaviour. And the lower end places will just experience a hack." She smiled, proud of herself.

"It's a long shot Chloe. Be prepared to come back with nothing."

"Until he strikes again, I don't have anything else to work with. For a man with a leather fetish, he's highly intelligent, and stupidly good at evading witnesses." Lex stood and she took place next to him, expecting some response. Her cheek received the slightest brush of his lips, but before she could turn to capture them he was already walking away, wishing her luck with her pointless endeavour.

Chloe sighed and sat back down with the papers. Was she missing something?

Her mind brought back something she didn't care to speak.

"The conditions Lex?"

"Oh, yes." He paused on the stairs. "I want to know every time you make contact with Arrow. Every time you see Queen and what happens. Where you go, when you are back. There will be security to escort you, you are not to drive." Chloe felt her anger make a re-appearance.

"How about this instead? I tell you when I see Arrow or Queen, and I tell you what is pertinent to you. You will not be digging into my date with Queen, I can handle him myself." she insisted. "I will be driving, but I will inform security when I leave the building."

"You'll come by the Luthor mansion every week to provide an update of progress and to finish any tasks I wish of you." he added.

"Acceptable, but I get to choose the day."

"You'll come when I request you." he corrected. Her scowl had him adding extra details "Or you'll stay here."

"Fine. It's acceptable."

"Sleep well Chloe." He wafted his hand in her direction and took his exit from the room silently. Chloe slumped down, exhausted, but secretly pleased she had no conditions that would restrict her too much. She needed to see Arrow again.

By night, Chloe was in a different bed, draining the last cup of coffee for the day and writing her essential notes regarding Arrow in her notebook. The kitchen was stocked and the security system was set up so with a push of a button she could loop it onto a blank feed. She sighed and paused her hand, she had a lot to do, places to visit, things to organise, but at current she could do nothing. It was peaceful in the quiet of the night, no-one yelling, no-one snoring, no noises of living. A gun rested in the top drawer of the bedside table, she didn't feel comfortable in the silence, strange considering how much she craved living alone. She thought of calling Bart, watching the latest action movie with him and eating pizza while discussing everything from the past. But… it just didn't seem right.

Chloe put her attention back to the notebook, listing the things she had yet to do.

Mr Chan would need her soon, he never was one to plan in advance, so she was putting him atop her list, her date with Queen below that. She needed to start visiting the tailors on her list, it was the best shot and smallest list, and then she supposed hacking the smaller archery ranges and martial arts centres for their client lists was another area to work on. With a sigh, Chloe scribbled out the rest of her list and snapped the notebook closed.

* * *

><p>The bell chimed to signal Chloe's entrance to the quaint clothing shop. The shop assistant sat filing her nails, feet up on the desk. Must be a slow day. Then again, it was just ticking 10am.<p>

Chloe smiled approaching the assistant and trying to forget her last encounter with an 'assistant'.

"Hi, you're website said you tailor custom jobs."

"Dad!" the woman called. From behind the staff door the grumpiest looking man came out. "She's asking about the custom job."

"I told you to take that off the website!" he grumbled to what Chloe presumed was his daughter.

"So you don't do anything custom?" Chloe asked.

"Not since some dip shit came in asking for a gimp suit." He scowled at Chloe's surprised face. "You're not after that are you?" he scanned her up and down, displeasure ripe across his features.

"No." she laughed under her breath. "I wondered if you worked with leather."

"Leather? What you want that for?" he sneered. "Probably some leather jacket with some crazy studs." he hissed under his breath. "No. I don't work with leather. Too annoying." The man huffed and turned away back to the back room.

"Just out of curiosity, have you ever done any leather jobs before?"

"No, and I don't ever plan to." he answered without even bothering to turn around. The door shut loudly in the silence.

His daughter quickly filled the silence.

"Sorry about Pa, he's got a stick up his ass. We do alteration though, you're pretty small, you probably have to get a few things altered don't you?" Chloe just smiled and thanked the assistant, mentally marking the store with a big X. "If you're looking for someone to do something with leather, I think there's this guy on 42nd street." Chloe paused, turning on her heels, taking out her paper of addresses. She had one on 41st.

"You mean Andrew's alterations on 41st?"

"Didn't say 41st, I said 42nd, and it won't be on any list. I overheard the gimp suit guy saying he'd be going to 42nd street as he left. I'm guessing it's one of those tailors that works out of their homes, spread by word of mouth, works with anything and everything. If you get my drift…" In other words, he specialises in fetish wear. Well, Arrow could be considered a fetishist with his love for leather. May as well check it out.

"Thanks."

"Welcome, don't forget to bring anything you need altering!" Chloe just waved and left the store. She guessed tactfulness was not something that ran in that family.

But now she had a lead.

She slipped in the back of the car, having chosen to let security drive today, and starting tapping into her phone's internet search engine to find a tailor on 42nd street.

An hour or so later Chloe found herself standing in the last shop on her list (Taylor's Tailoring; you've got to hand it to them for originality), having a bad feeling she'd need to scrounge for information on her 42nd street lead. If that didn't pan out… she'd be standing in square one again. The woman on the till tapped out a few more key strokes to the computer while Chloe looked around.

"Miss?" Chloe turned a few moments later, her hand on a light silk hanging from a mannequin. "I've got several forms for a lot of customs makes, but nothing in leather, I'm not sure if we do or don't."

"Is there anyone you can ask?" Chloe prompted, leaving the silk where it lay and returning to the desk.

"I could phone my boss." she offered. What was it with these shops leaving there assistants in charge? With a smile Chloe replied.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd really like to find somewhere that would work with this job. It's for a play." she added on the end.

"Oh, how nice. Well, I'll ummm, I'll just have to be a few minutes. If you don't mind waiting." Chloe accepted the offer with a smile, keeping her fingers crossed this would be the last place. Hopefully a credit card, or a money trail, or a description of the man. Clearly it wasn't everyday someone walked in wanting a green leather outfit.

Chloe wandered back over to the rack of fabrics, settling herself in for another few minutes wait. As her hand touched to the silks once again she became aware of the sudden burst of vibration from her bag. With a curse she dropped the fabric and started the dig in her bottomless pit that was a bag.

If this was Lex he was pushing onto the boundary of over protective and reaching a new level of high-handedness. She could do her job damn it, he didn't need to phone the first day she left. She withdrew her phone, but the vibrations did not belong to her usual phone, it must be another contact that had her other number. Someone with information on Arrow?

No, she thought, her cheeks heating as she realised who it would be. Queen. Her hand dug faster, her pulse racing at the thought of her not finding it before he gave in. She cursed her thought process as she finally grasped the phone finding the number on the screen not one of recognition and summarising it indeed was Queen. Taking a deep breath, proving she was not in any rush to answer it, she put the phone to her ear.

"Hello."

"Well hello there gorgeous." She didn't know if the beam across her lips was because she was right, or just because _he_ was on the other end, she ruled it as the first idea.

"I wondered when you'd be haunting my cell phone." But despite her words she smiled unknowingly.

"Well my plan was to terrorise your phone yesterday, but business seemed to dislike the idea of giving me time to date such an exquisite beauty."

"Business only likes the dogs of girls you usually date huh?" she teased, her fingers running over another fabric, her eyes on the back door the assistant was behind still.

Oliver chose not to reply to that, instead asking the question he rang to ask.

"So, are you free for me to take you out tonight?"

Chloe started words of an insult and a tease, but then she recalled the tailoring shops, she recalled 42nd street. Plus Lex _would_ want some information about her day, if only an email. Besides, it was only day one.

"Tonight's not actually good for me." Her voice came out as apologetic and she instantly regretted speaking the words.

"Oh, com'on blondie, are you really going to make me call back every day? Because I _will_."

"I don't doubt that, but tonight is actually not good for me."

"Alright, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. How's your tomorrow look?" Clearly he was eager, and he wasn't giving in any time soon. And, if Chloe was truly honest with herself, she _did_ want to see what he'd have up his sleeve for her. The sound of footsteps drew Chloe's eyes to the employee door as the assistant stepped back out. With a polite smile the assistant waited by the door, seeing Chloe was on the phone.

"Tomorrow sounds good." Chloe finally answered, caving to him and feeling a warm rush flood her body from doing so.

"Really?" Queen replied, shocked at the ease, he'd expected a little more fight.

"Really really." she repeated with a smile.

"Great. So, I'll pick you up from Luthor's castle of doom around 8pm."

"How about I meet you somewhere instead." After all, her instincts still kicked in, Queen was competition, he was business. Business could go south, competition could get ugly, it was always handy to not rely on said competition as your ride home.

"Whatever suits you, name any restaurant you want babe."

"Let's remember you insisted on the date, not me. It's your planning. You can just text me the details." Chloe noted how the assistant smiled hearing the one sided conversation. Better wrap it up quick.

"Alright, anything you don't like."

"Just make sure it serves good coffee." she laughed, ending the call and stuffing the phone in her bag. "Apologies." Chloe addressed the assistant.

"Oh, no worries, dating is hard." Apparently she spoke from experience. "I, ummm, I tried to call my boss, but she wasn't answering. I'm so sorry, I don't know if we can take on your job. I can phone you when I find out if you like, or you can call in tomorrow, she'll be working from here."

"I'll drop by, thanks." No point getting a phone call, besides she had a plan forming anyway. Chloe dropped a quick look at the main lock on the door and praised the stupidity of small businesses, this shop would have a night guest it seemed. Besides, people lie, accounts and records don't, well, not for a shop this small.

* * *

><p>Chloe returned back to the apartment and started her telephone calls, finding as much as she could about Vordigan, seeing if anything else matched up. There were a few killings similar to the photo's Lex had tortured her with, but other than the arrows and costume there was very little else in common, which ultimately, made her link to Vordigan entirely useless. Vordigan had no accomplices in his work, no links to his real identity and therefore no idea of sons, but records of his death show the images of the weaponry being stolen while he was lying dead, surely a son would not need to steal them from a corpse. Chloe sighed, Vordigan's background was in a secret society with no known location, roster or identities. It was the definition of secret, and Chloe couldn't get her hands anywhere near it. Some things do really <em>stay<em> secret, she concluded. So, regarding Vordigan, she was at a dead end.

Chloe brushed her hands through her hair, the smaller pieces falling to her face first. Maybe she should cut it again, long had been her style for so long. Granted, it was mostly hidden by wigs or shoved into a bun or ponytail, but sometimes change was good. Then again, the only change she could make was either dye or cutting. Dye was too much of a reminder of her running days, and cutting it reminded her too much of her high school days. Neither was a memory she wanted to relive. So, she supposed she'd keep her hair long, maybe even grow it out. What was she going to do with it tomorrow, she mused internally. A date rarely called for hair shoved out of sight, and it _was_ all about first impressions, well, second… no, third. With a quiet laugh to herself she mused before her mirror, playing with her hair. Maybe layers…

Her phone kicked up a fuss on the bedside table, a quick glance had Lex across the screen. A giddy voice told her to ignore it, a more sensible commander told her to stop being childish and answer it.

"Everything's going perfectly fine." she spoke upon accepting, anticipating his question and jumping ahead.

"You sound defensive." he noted.

"You sound accusing." she mirrored.

"I want an update on the progress." Like she said, Lex didn't believe in vacation days, her move to the penthouse was to do work, not relax.

"I started with his outfit." she began, wandering into the bathroom and staring at her reflection while she spoke. "There were only a handful of tailors that would work with leather, only a select few of those will do custom jobs. I searched their records and I am left with two possibilities." Chloe one-handedly fiddled with her hair, holding it up, then letting it down again. Up, and down. "One was unable to get me any records at the time, so I'm visiting them tonight." She grinned to the mirror, her hair up again. Up always looked to classy and elegant. A wedding style, not that she'd been to a wedding in a long long time. But up was also business-y.

"And the other?" he prompted.

"It's a word of mouth thing. Somewhere on 42nd street. I've got a contact to see who should know more." Then again… down always looked so much more… seductive. Previous men had always said they preferred her hair down, it gave them something to touch, something to dream of their hands in, messing it wild while kissing the life out of her. Maybe down would be better for her date.

"And Queen?"

"I have a date for tomorrow. One of your goons can drive me there if you like." she offered.

"That's acceptable. You'll phone me the morning after, I want to know the results of your _'research'_" In other words, he wanted her to snoop around Queen's apartment and look for anything curious. She liked the confidence that she would be in his apartment on the first date, she liked the idea a lot. There's only one reason a woman comes back to a man's apartment after a first date, and as much as Queen seemed against it initially, she had her ways of getting what she wanted. "Wear the red dress." he instructed. Chloe stopped her hand in her hair… he was telling her what to wear now?

"I can dress myself Lex."

"As little as you value my advice, I _am_ male. I'm simply offering some guidance in your endeavour. But please, feel free to choose whatever you feel is appropriate." As much as she hated to admit it, Lex was right, the red dress was the best, it showed everything needed in all the right places. The dress made men lust for her more than a lady of the night, a rouge lipstick on her lips and she'd knock Queen's 'no sex' rule out before he could even consider it. But… there was one small problem.

"And what do you want me to tell Queen about the scars?" The dress was mostly backless, just a few thin straps criss-crossing for elegance.

"Cover them."

"I neither have the time nor desire to keep that up. You do realise this is long term right?" she reminded him.

"Your father was abusive Chloe. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Her eyes narrowed and she turned away from the hatred staring back at her from the mirror. It was the story everyone got, the story that she hated telling, the one that physically hurt to tell. Her father was nothing but a good man. But she could hardly tell people it was Lionel.

"Let's not forget whose father is _really_ to blame." she sneered down the phone.

"Chloe." The warning was clear in her tone. Play to the lie, or you won't play at all.

"I know." she hissed, finalising her point by jabbing her thumb at the end call button.

Her father! Her own father! Her father had never laid a hand on her, never done anything but love her. And she had to turn him into the same monster as Lionel to sell a story.

Her anger exploded inside her, her hand throwing the phone across the room, hitting the wall with a satisfying sound, she dropped herself to the cold tiles of the bathroom, taking long shaky breathes to calm herself again.

She wasn't an angry person usually, and if she was, it wore off quickly. It took less than a minute before she rose again, calmly walking to retrieve her phone and slide it in her pocket. She silently padded into the kitchen and poured herself yet another coffee, taking her time to sip from the mug, taking her time to repair what calm she had made for herself.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Argh! So, I'm officiallly pissed with this lining system! I set it out all nice in word, and then I put it on here and it goes 'No, sorry we don't like what you've done with your convential ways of writing speech. Try this fucked up version instead.'<br>Which means I pretty much have to re-do everything I do when I upload. Grrrrr.

(Reviews make the writer work faster- proven statistic)  
>Xx<p> 


	15. Different types of demons

Ahhhh, much love, much love. Reviews are wonderful and all the author alerts and favourites are making my YEAR!  
>Hope you enjoy<br>Xx

**Previously:** Chloe's not pregnant to Lex's hell spawn :) She updated Lex with the summary of Oliver and Arrow. She came up with a few theories of how to catch our heart throb vigilante. Dear Chloe has now moved to Metropolis and is living in Luthor's penthouse away from the devil himself. A few visits to some tailoring shops to start her lead and she came across a wildly mysteriously mysterious 42nd street hint. Queen called for a date :) And Lex told her to tell a terrible story that her scars were from her own father. Poor Chloe.

And now; time for some B&E with a lovely leather clad chappy :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter<span> Fifteen; Different types of demons

* * *

><p>'<em>His secrets, privacy... my pathological inability to curb my curiosity'<em> –Chloe Sullivan (Season two, Episode Lineage)

* * *

><p>Taylor's tailoring closed at 5pm, Chloe waited until dark and stood in the shadow of the opposing building, by the back entrance, draining another cup of coffee from the vendor in the main city. She'd walked tonight, it wasn't too far and she felt like some fresh air, and some street sellers coffee mix. She'd chosen a cinnamon blend tonight, to warm her in the slight breeze.<p>

Her hair held in the bun, all except the few strands that framed her face, lifting off her skin in the rare drifts of wind between the buildings.

Chloe finished the cup, tossing it into the trash and walking around the buildings to reach the employee entrance. As she stood, measuring her target door up and down, she had a visitor.

"You know, I got stood up last night." Arrow's voice came to her ears. As much as she expected herself to be annoyed, she actually found herself happy for the company. She turned, spotting in him striding out of the shadows.

"Strange, I was expecting a phone call that never came yesterday too." Although, yes, she had forgotten about it until he'd phoned and excused himself.

"Did your caller happen to move house and not tell you where?" Chloe grinned, leaning back on the wall and crossing her arms over her chest smugly.

"No, apparently he had a business problem to solve and was stuck in board meetings all day and night."

"'_Apparently'_" he repeated questioningly. "You don't believe him?"

"He breathes, it's a good sign he's a liar."

"Someone coloured you cynical." he judged, stepping closer to her, his hands resting on the banister than framed the stairs she stood on.

"At least my colouring doesn't blend in with a forest." She smirked.

"I see you found your good mood again." he observed. "Not a single accusation."

"Yet." she added for him. "The night is still young."

"As it is. So, what brings you to this dark corner of the world?"

"Well, if you must know, I'm just_ dying_ for another ride on your motorcycle." she answered sarcastically, adding a melodramatic fawn for his pleasure.

"I owe you more than a ride on my bike darlin'" he grinned, leaning on the railing in a way she could only describe as seductive. "But the real reason?"

"I'm definitely not going to break into here if that's what you're thinking. I just _really _like the way this wall feels against my back." He smirked in reply, no doubt imagining a previous time she'd been backed against a wall in his presence.

"And the set of tools in your back pocket?"

"Stretching them out. New jeans." she lied smoothly, pushing from the wall and deciding to get on with the job at hand. She withdrew said set of tools and lowered herself to the lock's height, letting Arrow stare at her backside.

"So, what did Taylor's tailoring do to annoy the little blonde spitfire?" She turned to him for a second, would there be something on his face? Worry that she was closing in on him? He didn't show anything on his features, but without his eyes, she couldn't tell for sure.

"They may have a lead."

"A lead? On me you mean?" he guessed, rounding the iron fencing to stand at the bottom of the steps, watching her work the lock.

"Don't flatter yourself." she teased, flashing a quick look his way.

"That's a yes."

"Call it whatever you like Jolly Green." Her attention was once again claimed by the twisting, trying to hold the pin in the right place to free the lock.

"I think I'm safe calling it breaking and entry."

"You got something to hide in there Arrow?" she teased again, the tip of her tongue poking through her pink lips as she fiddled the lock once more.

"No, just that there's an alarm on that door, and a police station within a five minute drive."

"Honestly Greenie, no faith." Chloe grinned a second later, hearing the click of her lock.

A sweet victory.

"You're telling me you are going to hack a computer for evidence on me, which considering how I function would be heavily buried, and then get out without leaving a trace, within five minutes?"

Chloe laughed softly, musical almost. Her hand reached for the handle and she pushed open the door, no alarm to be heard.

"No Leather Fetish," she cooed. "I'm telling you I know how to disarm a cheap alarm." She grinned and stepped inside. "You're welcome to commit a crime with me if you like." she called back to him as she started up the computer.

"If this is how you treat you dates, then Oliver Queen is in for a treat." he commented, but stepped into the establishment.

"One; this isn't a date. Two; Queen is none of your business." she corrected, wandering the store, browsing the goods she had already seen in daylight. It felt so strange to stand in the same spot where she'd agreed to go on a date with Queen, yet discuss him with Arrow. It was like the ghost of their phone call was giving her a chill.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Arrow scope the room.

"Aren't you worried about security cameras?" he asked.

"I would be if they were on. But my skill set is wide." She'd cut them with the alarm. There was nothing here to track them.

"Your skill set wide enough to come with a password for this thing?" Arrow hovered over the computer.

Chloe turned back from her browsing, nudging him out of the way so she could see the computer screen. Arrow didn't move far, just let her come between the computer and him. He stood watching over her, closer than lovers.

Chloe slipped a hand behind her, a smile on her lips. Her hand felt the rush of leather over the back of it, the cotton of her coat over the front and she slipped it again into her back pocket to retrieve her magic black box used for such occasions. Her fingers grasped, but other fingers came around her wrist, holding her hand where it was.

"You and me have other business to finish you know."

"So we do." she agreed. "Now is hardly the time though." She turned her head the slightest amount, seeing no more than the edge of his hood. His lips were quick to attack, pressing to her exposed neck, fluttering kisses up and down her sensitive skin, his grip on her hand tightened, pulling her closer to his body.

The smallest gasp slipped from her lips, his other arm snaking around to pull her closer and hold her there, she felt like she could melt in his arms.

She'd forgotten the rush, forgotten the pleasure that soared through her, all until it flashed bright, burning her nerves.

"I could take you here." His words came out darkly, a roll of his hips against her demonstrating his point. "I could fuck you right here." His words flooded her, her stomach turned the familiar route of lust, her chest felt heavier, like it needed to be touched, her legs begged for his hands to explore between them.  
>Her mind told her to dare him, it told her to let go of everything and succumb, live in the passion. She bit her lip, keeping the words inside and holding onto her power that remained with both hands.<p>

"I have a job to do." she spoke, unaware of how breathy the words sounded to him.

"You're right. I can wait." he remarked, his hands letting her free and suddenly his front was no longer flush against her.

She withdrew the black box from her back pocket, suddenly feeling very empty and bereft. Through her dizzy mind, she listened to his footsteps crossing the floor, he didn't leave, just scouted the store. She was ashamed to say it took her a few seconds longer than usual to figure out what she was doing previously, but it came back and she inserted the wire from the box into the USB port of the computer. A push of its button and the cracker was working through the password.

"So when?" Arrow spoke, his fingers running over the same fabric she'd admired earlier in the day.

"When what?"

"When _do_ I get you?" he asked, turning back to her.

"Soon." she offered.

"Soon?" he repeated. "That's very vague of you Blondie." He crossed his arms over his chest, her eyes caught on the way his biceps seemed to bulge, the way his posture seemed to radiate masculinity. Everything about him was just so… raw male.

Primal instinct to fuck him started to tick in her.

The memory of his hands on her, the memory of her own cries of pleasure echoed in her ears.

The paling of Lex after she'd had a single orgasm from this creature of the night.

And oh God she wanted him again.

Her teeth came back, biting her lip as her mind took her on a wild ride down the best parts of memory lane.

"Damn woman." he suddenly cursed. She jumped a minute amount, not expecting his words, nor the speed in which he crossed the room to her.

He practically knocked her off her feet and caught her to collide with his own body, his lips smashing against her own and stirring up a mass of 'oh my god' in her head.

Her hands latched onto him, grasping the bicep, holding his head to keep his lips pressed to hers.

He was delightful, he was like air after drowning.

Her pulse echoed in her ears, her blood crashed against her skin, making every touch of his wandering hands seem like it was necessary for her survival, she never wanted anyone as much as in that moment.

Her heart felt like it had slipped between her legs, pounding and throbbing for a touch.

"You'll be the death of me." he swore, taking his lips from her to trail down her neckline and into her cleavage, parting the coat, pushing away the blouse that covered her.

Braless today, and oh god how he loved her for it. His mouth closed around her left nipple and she cried out in pleasure. She'd always had sensitive breasts, sensitive nipples that reacted to the slightest of touches. Her mind flashed back to the alley where he'd first touched her like this, pinned to the wall, unable to touch back like she wanted. But now, now she could touch.

She slid a hand between their bodies and cupped the firm erection concealed in the leather. Big, thick…

Her desire sky rocketed, fuck the shop, fuck the computer, she wanted him. It took no more than a second for Chloe to hook her leg around his, place her heel to the inside of his knee and take him to the floor. He landed with a grunt, but his hands still held her, his mouth still attacked her and as she held herself above him she could think of nothing but riding him right then and there.

Her hair fell from its place, more strands framing her face, he didn't care, he brushed them back, taking her lips in such passion she feared they'd bruise. His tongue danced with hers, drawing her further to share his ache.

Her ache seemed to throb in her groin, a throb that turned into an unconscious rocking motion against his erection.

Oh, she wanted it so bad, she had waited, she'd been a good girl.

He was everything she needed in that moment and he was happy to give.

Groans left him, the movement of her hips driving him past insanity.

He rolled her over, his lips back to her nipples that begged for more attention. The praise he got for paying such attention would be forever locked in his memory, she moaned like a bitch in heat as he touched her peaked nipple. He palmed the other, rolling the pebbled peak and stirring her lust past anything sane. Her fingers clawed at him desperate for release, desperate for _him_.

Then Chloe jumped, feeling a vibration against her thigh, it wasn't her phone. Her eyes opened, looking at Arrow as he stopped motion and groaned.

"Fuck sake." His hand came from her breast and he lifted himself from her, intending to turn off the phone. Except, it was Cyborg. He hoped to god it was him calling to say there was nothing to do tonight.

"Seriously?" she asked, seeing his battle and lack of decline to the call.

"I'm on duty Blondie."

"And I'm underneath you. Is this really that hard a choice?"

Arrow seemed to growl in his sigh and answered the call, still keeping above her, preventing her from moving.

"What? And this better be good." Chloe smiled at the anger in his voice. "You did? Send Impulse and Canary." Chloe couldn't hear anything more than a mouse's voice, unable to make out any words. All she could gather was that something was going down and Arrow was organising his other teammates. "You better be kidding…" Arrow grumbled, looking down at Chloe as she lay beneath him, breathing off her lust and anger. "Where the hell is Boyscout?!" Arrow was angry, that was no doubt. "You fucking owe me." Arrow ended the call and looked down at his vixen.

Chloe already knew the words he needed to say. Work called. It always did. If anyone, she could understand that. There are opportunities that are time sensitive and they didn't really understand that you were busy.

"You _really_ owe me." she spoke, a slight smile on her lips.

"Trust me. I wish it was different."

"Yeah. I can understand that."

"If there weren't lives on the line, I'd b-"

"I get it. I do." She smiled and pressed a soft quick kiss to his lips. "Go save the world honey." She smirked.

Arrow chuckled, lifting himself to stand and offering her the hand up. She accepted gratefully. "Go. They'll be another night for me and you." she promised, seeing the hesitance in his posture.

He picked his bow from the ground where it had somehow been placed, or lost, during their… 'excitement'. He was quick to the door, but paused for her.

"Blondie." Her eyes clicked up from straightening her blouse. "I don't get my suits here. That, I promise you." And he was gone, the roar of his motorbike breaking the silence in the streets.

It took Chloe a few minutes to right herself and clear her mind, as much as she believed his statement, she had to be thorough. The password had been dealt with a long while ago and she surfed through details on the computer, her memory carrying on with her imagination as to what would have happened.

True to his word, Arrow did not buy his suits here, they didn't even work with leather. Chloe sighed, but relocked the door and re-wired the security alarm and video feed for the store. She usually didn't bother, just called it in as a break-in to the cops and they'd make the place safe. But for some reason, she felt like doing something good.

* * *

><p>Chloe went to sleep late, and woke late, as it was logical. But heavily inconvenient, she had plans to speak to Alfie. He may be old and shuffling around on a leg that didn't agree with him in the cold months, but he was a well of information. People seemed to ignore the old man when talking about business, he wouldn't be a problem for them they always assumed. And he wasn't, the people who he told the information to however, they were very much so a problem.<p>

First, she would see Alfie, find out anything she could about 42nd street.

Then, well it was logical to either go to the address he told, or keep looking around people until they told her more information if Alfie had none.

After that; back home, shower, hair, dress and date. Her stomach warmed at the last though. But her mind tapped twice to get her attention and pointedly coughed at the 'plan'. Her brain was right, her night didn't end there, once she was inside the lair of Queen, she'd fuck the life out of him, and wake at 3am to have a good snoop and photo session of his belongings, then back into his bed like she'd been there all along.

Easy.

Chloe smiled, reciting over the three important parts to her already late starting day; Alfie, 42nd and Oliver.

Chloe waved off the guard, knowing she would not be needing them today, the neighbourhood didn't accept guards easily, it meant you were important, which meant kidnappers could profit from you, or cops would come following your footsteps if you died. It closed mouths and stopped tongues. Hell, even the car you arrive in could clear a crowd… if it lasts long enough to be seen before it's stolen that is.

Alfie was out on the porch when she arrived, he grinned as he saw her, cigar stubbed in the ash tray that explained the aroma. The shotgun lay to his left, he always seemed to like it on his left, despite being right handed. He claimed it was just the way he was taught, she claimed he was mixed up in the head. A lazy golden Labrador in the same stage of life as the old man lifted its head.

"Ah, relax girl, she ain't gunna harm ya."

"Where'd you get the dog?"

"I didn't." he grumbled. "She found me. Half dead and starved, broken leg and other signs of a shitty ass owner."

"She looks good."

"Don't you start making friends with my dog now." he grumbled. "You come back to town and think you can just waltz right back into your friendships. A social visit would be nice. And don't you start feeding me some bull about this being a social visit."

Chloe smiled shyly. "Argh. Fine, whaddya want lass?"

"I've got some business finding a tailor on 42nd street. Can you give me any further details?"

"Yeah. There ain't one!" he hissed, standing from his chair. The lab stood as well, evidence of her old broken leg clear as she took a slight limp, following the old man inside. "What you want a flippin' tailor for anyway?" His continuation of the conversation cleared up if he wanted her to follow or not. Chloe smiled, pacing the distance and heading to the kitchen.

"Business." she simply spoke, settling herself into the closest chair, absently rubbing the old dogs ears as she came closer.

"Two-way street." The old man just grumbled, flipping on the kettle and reaching down a cup. Chloe waved off the offer, she'd just drained a mug on her way here and adding more to the already scary total wouldn't do any good. Especially considering she'd only been up for a few hours. "Gotta give something to receive." he reminded her.

"I need Green Arrow's identity to trade for my contract." she breathed, knowing Alfie would tell no-one else.

"Finally found a way out huh?" he admired the work, but paused, hand over the herbal teabags he'd decided to try. "Green Arrow though? He's not exactly running with the bad crowd."

"Hence the reward." she uttered, focussing on the dog instead as she stumbled into lying down over Chloe's feet. Chloe smiled, continuing to pet the soft fur.

"Heard you got work with Chan again."

"Same as usual. Good money for one night's work." she explained, not that she needed to.

"He's still bad news."

"Name someone on my contact list who isn't." she challenged with a laugh.

"And this tailor?" he prompted, answering the click of the kettle and pouring himself the tea.

"I figured if I could find who makes his costume, I'd find him." she summarised, watching carefully as he shuffled his way into the chair opposite. The dog lifted her head, and upon seeing her new master she sprawled out under the table, feeling safe again.

Chloe remembered being the stray Alfie had taken in, he never could say no to a woman in trouble. She remembered the same feeling of safety from being around him. She smiled at the animal, ignoring the fact she had identified with a dog. Her eyes lifted to Alfie, he still wore the same impatient grin, pulling more words from her mouth that she hadn't thought she'd have to give. "A store clerk at one of the tailoring shops had some people come in looking for custom jobs, when her store couldn't do it, she had overheard them talking about visiting 42nd street afterwards."

"There's only one place on 42nd street I've heard of that would even be of interest, most are just old family houses. But that's only just come onto my radar… and it sure didn't sound like a tailoring shop." He narrowed his eyes at her, his grey bushy eyebrows sinking low.

"Where is it?" Chloe asked, positively glowing at the thought of closing in. Her lead was pure luck and was about to pay off BIG time.

"No way. I'm not saying a word." He drank from his tea then proceeded to keep his lips sealed shut.

"You know how much I need this." Her brain had ran through every way of breaking the man and she was down to her only option; guilting. "Don't you want me to finally be free of Lex?!"

"How can you even ask that?!" His mug slammed down to the table a little harder than what could be classed as controlled. Chloe felt the dog lift its head again, curious and scared. "I care for you Chloe, you know I do, and that's exactly why I'm not saying a word. Nothing good will come from that place."

"It's my only chance." He said nothing. "Please?"

"Trust me, I'm doing you a favour, and that place has nothing to do with tailoring."

"Then let me cross it off my list!" she pleaded, her body leaned across the table, her hands held to pray but without a thought of God.

"I promised your father I'd keep you safe."

"And the longer I stay under Lex's orders the safer I am?" she questioned and he hated her for it.

A cold silence took hold of the room, eyes battled in wills until the old man finally tore away.

"You're a damn nuisance, like a frickin' pit bull on a pant leg." he grumbled, his resolve tumbling down. "You'll take a gun, and mace if you go."

"Always do." She smiled.

"Chloe…" His voice was hurt, tortured to even think about telling her something that could lead somewhere so bad. "Remember this kind of information came from the sleazy kind of scum that even the bottom of the barrel was too good for."

"I probably won't even have to go inside, just take a look through the window. Just the information and I'll see what I can do without even stepping inside." she lied smoothly. Years of practice had honed her skills of dishonesty.

"Fine, but I'm only telling you because I know you'll end up selling your soul for it otherwise."

"My appreciation is indescribable."

"Yeah yeah." he grunted. His eyes met hers again but he closed them tight and stared down at the table. "Red door." he sighed, regretting it in the same instant.

"That's it?"

"What more do you want?!" he snapped. "It's the damn house with the red door!" he grunted, losing interest in the tea and pushing it aside.

"Thank you." Her words were warm, her hand reached out to lay over his old wrinkled one.

"Yeah, you better find something worthwhile from this, and I swear if you die because of this place I'm going to make your eternal damnation the worst thing imaginable as soon as I join you."

"How about we both concentrate on living for now" she laughed, giving his hand a friendly squeeze.

"I'm not that old you know! Cheeky swine." But he coughed out another laugh.

* * *

><p>Chloe spent the rest of her afternoon with Alfie, catching up, arguing, laughing and watching the horse racing as he grumbled about the bet he hadn't placed. Just like the old days, she mused.<p>

She left a little after 6pm, just enough time in her mind to investigate the mysterious red door, if only to drive by and observe and then go back and get a shower, do something with her hair and meet Queen. She smiled at the latter, throwing her car into drive and following her inner compass to 42nd street.

In all honesty, she hadn't quite expected the street to be so long, but even then, there was only one house boasting a flaking red door.

Chloe stopped the car, groaning aloud at the bordered windows.

Had she missed them?

Had they moved somewhere else?

Just as she was about to drive on and call it a bust, she caught the red door open at the corner of her eyes.

"Come back anytime!" A third man appeared in the door, chuckling to what Chloe presumed were customers. She saw the door close and watched the two men grin to each other, discussing their '_purchase_'.

"Now **_that's_** what you call good service." The both laughed aloud, poised by the car as they waited for a truck to drive past.

"Good service?!" the other repeated. "That was fantastic, talk about '_made to order'_. Fucking expensive-" The other man nodded, but with a grin on his face.

Another car passed and Chloe got the sinking feeling that despite the words, it wasn't quite what she thought it to be.

But… surely it was just a feeling. She could always go ask.

Alarm bells kicked off inside her mind. The way they spoke, the fact two men had left a 'tailoring shop' together… the bordered windows. It didn't add up right.

Chloe flashed a glance to the clock, 6:34, she had plenty of time to investigate.

Her eyes went back to the door, and then to the car as it pulled out, and then they narrowed in on the passengers curious gaze at her and his nudging to his friend as they drove past her. Probably just admiring the view. But a minute later, as she was summing up her decision regarding the place, she saw two large men exit the red door and bee-line straight for her car.

The alarm bells blared at her, this was bad, this was trouble. She started up the car again, but quicker than she could put the car in drive the man was knocking on her window, the other rounding the front of her car. Maybe she could talk her way out of this, she thought as the option of running him over seemed illogical. She rolled down her window just a fraction.

"Can I help you?" she asked, trying to shut up the ringing of danger inside her head.

"Thought we might be able to help you actually, you seem interested in the place." he nodded his head towards the house with the red door.

"Just browsing properties, I'm in the market for a new home." Her lies came easily, but the boys didn't believe them.

"That so? You can come in and look around if you like. We're friendly enough." The silent man on her passenger side chuckled darkly, just enough for her to hear and feel the pull of dread in her stomach.

"Actually, I should be getting home."

"Nonsense." Before she could find another lie, her silent visitor put his elbow through her passenger window and flipped the switch to unlock the doors. In the same moment, she felt herself pulled through her door, the seatbelt thrown off and no care given for her safety. She felt to the tarmac, her arm snagged in the secure grip of her capture as he half dragged and half carried her towards the house.

Chloe screamed, she kicked, she threw her body weight around but the street didn't reply and the men didn't care. The red door opened and she was pulled through, finding a spot in her vision to watch as the other man relocked her car and carried her bag inside.

And that was the moment Chloe knew she was screwed. That, and then the next moment when she was dragged into a smaller cell-like room and handcuffed by one hand to a waist height railing that wrapped the entire room. The door slammed leaving her alone and handcuffed.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuck.

Fuck a fucking duck…

Why? She asked herself.

Why had she not just ran the man over and drove off like her gut begged her to.

But no, Chloe just couldn't let it go.

"Jesus Christ Chlo" she muttered to herself. What had she got herself into? Because this definitely wasn't a tailoring business.

Oh Alfie was going to be livid if she died here. Not to mention she'd be a little more than pissed at herself. Sure her occupation was brushing with death on a daily basis, but she always had a handle on things, and it was always nothing more than a passing greeting kind of relationship she had with her own demise. This was a great big introduction and shared food kind of occasion she was having.

Speaking of, was it rude to ask them to get a move on with freeing her? She _did_ have dinner plans with Queen, which she was kind of looking forward to.

Her head fell into her free hand pitying herself, when her fingers came across the answer to her prayers; hair grips!

She shot a thank you up to whoever was listening and watching over her and freed her shorter hairs and took the bobbypin to her handcuffs.

23 seconds was her fastest speed, that was a holding cell in Romania.

Now, with death on the line she had a little more pressure and the clock kept ticking.

Just as she felt herself reaching her goal of freedom her prison door opened and in stepped three men, the two from before, with grins on their face and a lanky little shit dressed in a suit too baggy to have been measured properly- there goes all remaining theory of tailoring- and they stood before her. The guards (Chloe named them one and two- one being her talkative kidnapper and two being the one she should have run over before he brutalised her car) stepped forward and held her again, withdrawing the bobby pin and pulling all other accessories from her hair and pockets.

"Charlotte Maine, Rachel Rodgers, Andrea Mills, Sabrina Flox and Helen Zophres." And they had been through her bag clearly, all her ID's listed as above. "Which one do you prefer?"

"Charlotte works for me." she answered wittily, her hair messed across her face, her body thrown around by the guards as they checked her pockets.

"And who do you work for Charlotte? FBI? Metropolis PD?" The leader asked again, the bored tone in his voice.

"No-one." she answered plain and honest- well, honest to his question line. She saw the raised eyebrow of her interrogator and that was all the warning she got before a guard's hand came down with a crack across her cheek. Chloe hissed out the pain, keeping her face down and pinning the abuse to guard two who stood closest.

"I will not tolerate lying." The leader corrected her. "Who do you work for?"

"You've clearly been through my bag, you saw no badge because there isn't one!" she snapped, already pissed off with this. She was way in over her head and had no escape route in her mind.

"Say I believe that, what other purpose do you have sitting outside staring at my door." She had to admit, this wasn't going to be easy to explain.

"I was looking for someone."

"Looking for someone" he repeated, this seeming to have hit a nerve. "Whoever you are looking for, she's not here." _she's_ … what did that mean?

"I never said she" Chloe spoke.

"Then who are you looking for?" He seemed genuinely interested… or maybe that was faked, she couldn't really tell with the throbbing across her face.

"I'm hired to uncover Green Arrow's identity, I got a tip to try here."

"And who hired you?"

"I don't know, I got an email and money wired to me." she lied easily, trained to protect Lex on an instinctual level.

"So, what you're saying is no-one knows you're here." His words started to piece with other things she'd heard, something was making sense in the back of her mind, something nasty and dangerous for her safety. Chloe lifted her head and met him eye to eye.

"Fucking try it." she dared. He grinned and a hand came down across her face again, pretty much the same spot as before. At least number two had good aim.

"Put her in her own cell, she'll fetch in money with a resistance like hers." And the man turned to leave.

"Hey! You bastard, what the hell sick scam you running here?!" she snarled, knowing it would earn her another hit. It did. This time on the other side of her face. But he stopped as she'd desired and words tumbled from him.

"Even got bored of living life as normal Charlotte? Ever wanted a bit more _fight_ from your prey?" What the hell was he on about? "You seem to be a little_ too_ resistant though." He turned to his men, "Question her and break her in a little, no man would want to come near her like she is." And the final piece clicked, her mind retreated to the back corner in fear. Her voice seemed to go too.

"You're selling women…" Her words were broken, but she heard the truth as she spoke it.

"I'm selling sex, however people are willing to pay for it." The leader lowered himself to meet her eyes. "The last girl broke a little too quick for my customer's liking. Somehow I think you'll be my prize earner." With a sadistic smile, he took his exit leaving her with the two men.

She kicked and she screamed, she fought and she even managed to hit them several times, but in the end she was bound with zipties around both hands and feet and thrown over number one's shoulder as he took her upstairs.

Chloe screamed until she saw into the first windowed door, easy from her height. A woman tied to a bed, whipped and bleeding by a man dressed head to toe in black PVC.

Welcome to hell…

Chloe was thrown into her own room, no care for her body hitting the old rotten wood, no care for putting her on the bed that stood only a metre away. The door shut and locked behind the men, but she knew they'd be back, they had questions, and her will to break.

All she could think about was Lionel, standing over her, belt in hand, lashes struck onto her back. And she thought she was free. She let a dark laugh consume her mind, no-one who's lived her life ever gets free.

Chloe sat in the silence, making her first discovery. Sound proof rooms, not even so much as a cry from the girl down the hall being beaten within her life.

Bolt locks, from the outside, she next noted remembering the ominous sound of her imprisonment.

No window, just a bulb on a wire hanging from the ceiling. Chloe shuffled herself upright, her wrists burned though had only been tied for mere minutes, her ankles were squeezed together and she didn't dare try to move her feet and force them to wiggle any.

Not to mention she was coming off her coffee buzz.

The thought barely left in a fleeting passage when the door re-opened, the two guards from before and then this other man, a greasy looking sack of shit that dragged a chair in with him, a piece of paper on the clipboard that no doubt made him feel special.

Chloe summed this was just a twisted version of an interrogation and she knew how to deal with those. Story-telling. Lies. More stories. Wasting their time. It got you beaten, but you kept your secrets secret. Except the first question threw her entirely.

"Your named will be Pixie for now, men will re-name you as they please. Answer every question and you won't meet any more abuse." The greasy scum paused and the guards stepped to either side of her, her punishment and incentive clear. "How many sexual partners have you had?" Chloe blinked, her brain automatically trying to count up.

"None of your fucking business." she called back. A boot slammed into her thigh, she cried out, dropping to the floor. A hand came to either side of her, reverting her back to her original position.

"How many sexual partners have you had?" he asked again, his slimy eyes looking her up and down.

"Depends if you count kicking men's dicks with my heels when they look at me like you do." She earned herself another boot to her thigh, again she fell, her cries of pain nothing to the men, if anything they seemed to enjoy it. A stray tear slid down her cheek, trying to soothe the earlier burning of her face.

"I don't. Including anything from sexual touching to sexual play, how many sexual partners have you had?"

"I've lost count." she sarcastically replied. He wrote something on his clipboard, accepting the answer.

"Are you, or have you ever been married?"

"No." she scoffed the answer, feeling no need to evade it.

"Current address of living?" Chloe tensed, seeing another boot in her future. If she spoke the truth, she'd be tied back to Lex, Lex would be targeted, and she'd be definitely killed.

"I was living at Mary's." she started, spinning a story. "But then her cat made me keep sneezing, you know the kind of sneezing that isn't healthy, so I went to the doctors, and it's such a cute cat, so I was sad to hear I was allergic. But Mary told me about this health spa that cured allergies, so I was at that place for a while, until I moved back in with Mary, but the cat just kept-" A fist slammed into her stomach, cutting of her words and forcing her to curl to gasp for air.

"We're going to be here a while it seems, Pixie." The sick grin she'd seen on the boss came back on her interviewer.

* * *

><p>Oliver stepped from the shower, curling the towel around his waist as he walked back to the bedroom. That workout had been everything he'd needed from his day, as much as he liked the work he did at Queen Industries, he hated the politics that came with it. Board meetings were the bane of his existence.<p>

But tonight, he'd finally crack open the nutshell that was Chloe. He grinned at his reflection. He was dying to kiss her again. Things had moved a little fast as Arrow, but her kisses were addictive, he could give up sex as Queen, but her kisses, he'd dreamed of her lips for God's sake. And he'd have those lips again by the end of the night.

He tugged some jeans and a shirt from the closet, knowing she wouldn't be the type to want him in a suit all the time; she was a casual cool. He smiled at his choice and sat down on the bed in just the towel. He had a good feeling about tonight. Shame about his favourite car, somehow he thought she'd like it, but she lived with Lex, luxury wasn't important to her. Besides, he had a hunch she was the one behind its sudden demise.

Time ticked onwards and with a 15 minute drive (depending on traffic) ahead Oliver slipped the watch over his wrist, and picked the keys from the dish next to his door. A final look to the TV's reflective surface and he deemed himself worthy of a date with Chloe.

Oliver made good time to the restaurant, but time kept moving onwards.

He drummed his fingers against the restaurant table, was she late? Was his watch fast? He only had to look at the nervously hovering waiter to gain his attention.

"Yes Sir, do you wish to order?"

"Do you have the time?" Oliver just asked instead. The waiter nodded, looked down at Oliver's expensive watch sitting idle on his wrist, but obliged the request anyway. He stretched out his arm to reveal the undecorated time keeper his father had bought him for his 29th birthday. Nothing akin to Oliver's own, but it kept time well.

"8:04 Sir." he answered politely. Oliver nodded. He had said 8 hadn't he?

…He _did_ say 8, right?

"Anything else Sir?" Oliver awoke from his senseless doubt.

"No. Thank you."

The waiter bowed himself out and Oliver made a mental note to give him a tip to smile about when he left.

Where was the woman? Sure, heels and make-up and hair took a long time to perfect, but she didn't seem like the kind to be late because her hair didn't fall right.

Yes, woman did enjoy fashionably late, but surely not her, and not with him. Usually his dates were always here before him, applying a third layer of lipstick and pouting for the washroom mirror.

Then again, this was Chloe, she probably just wanted to make him stew in some twisted form of payback for kidnapping her the last time he saw her. He chuckled to himself and sat back in the booth.

* * *

><p>Chloe laid on the wooden floor, not a single spot on her body didn't ache, not a single spot hadn't been beaten or bruised.<p>

The price of secrecy, and she had far too many secrets to remain bruise free. She'd answered most questions and they'd finally skipped certain ones after she hadn't given an honest answer after seven beatings. They left her alone in the silence for what seemed like hours, and then they'd returned, re-trying the questions she was determined not to answer. She'd just punished herself further, but there were things some people could never know. Eventually they gave in, realising her will power was too strong and no number of beatings would crack her. Yet.

So here she was, back in the painful silence.

Chloe tried to sit up, but everything pulled, everything ached, the tears would start anew if she carried on. She'd only just managed to stop them , so she laid back down again. Someone would come. Lex would call, track her perhaps. She half wished she hadn't removed her GPS from her phone… But he'd call places, he's find her.

And then there was Arrow. He always had the perfect timing.

Okay, so perfect would have been _before_ she was used to relieve some stress and tension, but now was pretty damn good too. He would probably be running rooftops right now. He would come. Of course he would come. He always did, he always would.

He'd save her.

He wouldn't let anything happen to her.

He was probably on his way _right_ now.

* * *

><p>Oliver tapped out another rhythm on the table with his fingers. He knew she wasn't exactly excited about it, but <em>this<em> late?

She wasn't coming; his brain spoke up. She was just messing with him. She just wanted him off her back. Oliver took another look to the door. Maybe she was late. Maybe there was bad traffic. Maybe there-

… He sighed. He was hoping for nothing. He'd been stood up.

Oliver Queen had been stood up.

There was front page news… it had never happened. All he wanted to do was go home.

But, if she's late. If she had a fashion disaster, or her car broke down. Anything could have happened. He looked to the door again. Traffic was pretty slow, maybe there'd been an accident on the roads that was slowing her down.

Another 30 minutes he agreed with himself, another 30 minutes he swore as he looked at his watch again. He'd give her that much, then he'd go home and call it what it was. 30 minutes, then home. He didn't even have the energy to bother beating anyone up or save anyone if she wasn't coming. He just felt… broken.

* * *

><p>The door unlocked again and Chloe felt her heart sink when it wasn't the green leather she'd prayed for.<p>

"Boss told us to break you in Pixie."

It was number two, and two others she hadn't seen. The door closed and locked behind them. These men were to star as the villains in this chapter of her life… just how close to the end of the book was she. Would this be the brutal ending no-one expected? Or, was this just the middle, that had the danger before the chapters of wonderful brilliance where she lived happily ever after?

"We get to break you any way we choose."

"Prepare you for customers who'll pay good money"

But they leant against the wall in a group and didn't advance… yet.

"I wanna start. I wanna see how much she squeals like a whore."

"Bet she bucks like a fucking pony. Gunna be a sweet ride."

Chloe looked up from the floor, as much as she didn't want to, there was no way to block out their voices. She was forced to listen as they verbally and very vocally discussed their plan to rape her.

She bit back the tears.

She'd fight any way she could.

She'd fight until she was dead before she let that happen.

Lionel's threats of rape always terrified her, but she knew it's all they were, threats. He couldn't get his rocks off like that, but these men… they could. It wasn't just a terror tactic.

But she wasn't just going to lie down and let them have their way, no, she'd fight, tooth and nail until Arrow arrived and freed her.

He was probably right above them now, changing his knock out arrows for deadlier ones. Or maybe he was planning to capture them, torture them for weeks on end for even daring to think such things about her. Arrow would come. He'd be here in the next few minutes. He'd break down the door, kill everyone and carry her to safety. It was what he did. She could rely on him for that.

* * *

><p>Oliver sighed, 5 minutes had already passed and he'd left several voicemails on a turned off phone. He'd got the message… but still he planned to sit there for another 25… Hell, maybe he'd just walk himself to a bar after this. But he promised himself he'd give her the extra half hour, and that he would. His eyes met his watch, it was slowly creeping closer and closer to 9pm. But she had another 25 minutes left and he wouldn't move a muscle.<p>

* * *

><p>Chloe didn't have any choice but to listen to the developing plan of her own abuse. She had less than a few minutes before men started to get inpatient in this planning and clothes started to come off… hers… she closed her eyes and squeezed them tight, praying Arrow would finally arrive.<p>

"I'm getting bored of all this talking. Let's show the bitch a good time, eh?" Chloe's demons had made up their mind, her tears broke free from her willpower. The first contestant stepped forward, his dark shadow looming over her cowered form.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>So, I finally got around to editting my previous chapters and putting in this stupid end of chapter X line thing... it was needed since I decided to put in line breaks for where the plotscene changes.

Trust me, I'm not happy about this. Plus, it took me forever to get through all the chapters... seriously, i've written THAT much?

Anyhoo, hoped you liked it, I know it's not the date you wanted. But when this date _does_ happen, I think you'll be very happy with what has been written. I am :)

Review if you feel it.  
>Xx<p>

(Many thanks to reviewer 'theruckus' for highlighting that Chloe cannot develop x-ray vision and see through his shades to his eyes as I had previously stated- Thank you :) -If you spot any other mistakes, i'd love to know about them so I can change them. Once you've re-written several times you start to read what you _want_ to see rather than what is actually there. Common author mistake. Help a gal out?)


	16. Healing

Reviews have been amazing. Simply amazing.

I'm loving how hung up on this story some of you are. I feel so powerful. I could actually kill her if I wanted. I could ruin her life!  
>Okay, power trip is over.<p>

Clearly some people are reading the entire thing new, and apparently staying up all night to do so. So that's great for you, but remember sleep is important.  
>Speaking of sleep, the plot should be picking up much faster, so except for the odd filler if I need a passage of time to be shown then things should be all action.<br>I'm writing ahead as well (for once), so I can tell you Oliver gets A LOT more action ;)

Followers & favourites; it's all crashing into my inbox and it's FANTASTIC to feel as I do when I open my mail :D Huge thanks to everyone who has given me a smile via that.

I'm loving the casual 'I hate you, write more' and 'Loved it' I get dropped by guests too. It's brilliant to hear back.

Anyhoo, I'm addressing some points made in reviews at the bottom, feel free to not read :)

More news; good and bad.  
>Bad; this chapter is short.<br>Bad; next chapter is short.  
>Bad; they wouldn't fit together how I liked it so they had to be separate chapters<br>**Good**; next posting should be out before the week is up, and then another long one on Monday/Tuesday. So, smile :)

**Previously;** Chloe committed some B&E with Arrow and things got steaming on the shop floor ;) But, they were interrupted again. Chloe went to see her dear contact Alfie, regretfully, he gave her information which took her to a red door. Chloe got dragged a little deeper than she wanted into the murky waters of the red door's business. Beaten, questioned, re-beaten and re-questioned our heroine prays for hero Arrow, while dear Oliver sits at a restaurant thinking he's been stood up.

Apologies, but it makes me chuckle slightly that you expected a date from the last chapter and instead I serve you that. If there was an award for being an evil writer... I think I may have won it.  
>But don't worry the date will come soon, and it will be awesome.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Sixteen; Healing<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>In the darkest hour, the soul is replenished and given strength to continue and endure.'<em>- Lionel Luthor (Season Seven, Episode Lara)

* * *

><p>The expected hand didn't come, instead noise exploded all around her, she ducked her head, covering from whatever blast was heading her way. Then there was silence.<p>

Chloe lifted her head, and blinked her eyes to the new sight. The door lay hanging open, only attached by one latch, her would-be rapists had left body shaped craters in the walls, but were no-where to be found.

Arrow? Had he come?!

Chloe remained quiet, and listened to the voices further down the corridor.

"Get the girls, I'll drop these at the police station with the documents." One voice spoke, it was oddly familiar. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought she'd heard that voice before. But it wasn't Arrow's and her mind slumped back in its corner.

He didn't come.

"Always willing to help the senoritas." Bart?

"Yeah, well perhaps a man, _however small and pathetic looking_, isn't quite what they want right now." It was a woman's voice. Could it be Canary? Was this Arrow's team? "I'll get the girls, you get the documents and get them back to Cyborg."

Arrow had come after all! She sighed a breath of relief and pushed herself into a sitting position. Even through the pain she didn't want Arrow to see her vulnerable.

"Sure thing." Chloe heard the voices come closer, the female's heels stop sooner and then a wash of relief crashed over her as the other footsteps came closer. But it wasn't Arrow walking past her door.

"Bart!" Chloe called out, and the figure stopped, looking into the room.

"Jesus Christ. Chloe? What the hell you doing in here?!" He crossed the metres distance at super speed and wrapped his arms around her. He must have slipped a blade from his pocket and cut the ties behind her back, because her wrist suddenly felt the flow of blood back again and she threw them around Bart.

Tears of happiness and relief tumbled down her cheeks.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you." she whispered, letting him free from the embrace to cut her ankles bindings.

"How the hell did you end up mixed in this?" His thumb stroked down her cheek, wiping the tears.

"Long story." she answered. "Where's Arrow?"

Bart felt the warmth in his stomach turn a few degrees colder. Arrow, huh? He wanted so much to say he wasn't here, to tell her he had better things to do, but the way the tears sparkled in her bright eyes… she needed comfort.

Ollie owed him one. Big style!

"He's at the other address, taking care of the others." It was true they'd had two addresses they thought possible. Vic and AC were at the other one and had just messaged back that it was a dead end. Clark was running in between.

"Oh." The noise fell her from lips still sounding like the disappointment he had hoped to avoid. "Good. That's good." she finally spoke again, and took Bart's offered help to stand.

"You alright? You look barely alive." he noted with concern, seeing the effort and pain she tried to hide when standing.

"No hospitals."

"Yes, well." Both sets of eyes click up to the voice of the female in the doorway. "Impulse, we need Boyscout back, the other girls need a rush to the hospital." Bart nodded, pulling out his phone and throwing it to Dinah.

"My bag." Chloe whispered to Bart as Canary dialled in the corridor. "It has all my ID's and phones." Bart nodded, helping Chloe. She nudged him off after the first few steps, determined to be fine on her own two feet. Bart just chuckled and pointed the way down the hall to where all the documents and girl's possessions were.

Dinah held the phone back out to Bart, breaking his stare at the female stumbling her way down the hall.

"She's not yours anymore." she simply told him. Bart's eyes clicked back to Dinah.

"And he's not _yours_ anymore." he spoke back, admitting for the first time he knew about what had happened between Ollie and Dinah.

"He never was." The bitterness was still evident.

"Doesn't mean we stop caring though." His eyes lifted to find those than Dinah desperately wanted to hide. "Does it?"

Bart followed the direction Chloe had taken to find her sat at the table, her bag's contents before her, but something else had captured her attention.

Chloe raked her eyes over the pieces of paper. How big was this operation? Littered across the table was buying information, regular clients and then the records of all the girls. The names went on forever, and there she was; Pixie. The latest addition. Nothing other than a cover name to identify her. She read the notes to her questions and answers, read the pencilled additions of clients names next to her replies. Already setting to sell her piece by piece. Bart's hand came to her shoulder.

"Don't torture yourself." he advised.

"How long has this been going on?"

"We stumbled across it when looking into-" Into Lex's test labs, he wanted to finish… but he changed his words. "Some research." Chloe either didn't pick up on his pause, or didn't bother to question it, she just kept looking at the page before her.

"Burn these." she finally spoke, turning back to him.

"Chloe, we need them to hand over to the police… and to make sure this is over."

"These you don't." She cast her eyes to the many questionnaires across the table. "The girls deserve some privacy." She shuffled the papers into one pile and handed them to Bart in one swift move.

Chloe's tears were silent but obvious, even to Canary who stood at the edge of the room on-looking the scene. "Unless you think rifling through pages of sexual habits is going to help." Her force of the papers into Bart's hands told him where she stood on her opinion of what he should do.

Chloe sidestepped and went back to her bag checking her ID's and phone's lock hadn't been tampered with. Everything seemed in order. Either they didn't bother with invading this area of privacy or they hadn't got around to it for her yet. Heels and fishnet stocking came into her view as Canary took the papers from Bart, dumped them in a metal trash can and threw in a lit match.

"They never existed." she voiced to the room. Chloe would have found the energy to smile to the other female, but she felt a dark tug of pain wash over her. "Take her someplace safe and I'll collect what files are relevant."

Bart's arms came back around her as she almost slumped from the chair to the floor. Canary rolled her eyes. "Sooner is better." she reminded. Bart narrowed his eyes and took Chloe into his arms, running her from the building.

The air seemed to bring her back to him.

"Stop." she called to him. At first he didn't obey, thinking it was just the motion sickness. "Bart, stop." she cried again and he slowed his pace to stop. "Not the mansion. Oasis Avenue. Penthouse."

"I think the hospital would be a better choice, you look terrible Chlo." His concern was clear.

"Please Bart." And he found himself changing direction. Away from the Luthor mansion, away from the hospital and towards her new home.

* * *

><p>After the first cup of coffee, she looked a whole lot better, something Bart just couldn't understand. Chloe had looped the security feed as soon as they'd got into the building from her phone and settled on the couch while she begged Bart to make her coffee.<p>

"How long Chloe?"

Her eyes cast to the clock, 9:27pm. Shit, she'd missed her date with Queen completely. She needed to phone him, apologise… she'd think of a good reason. She should probably text Lex as well, get some drugs to clear up the mess called her body. Bart waved his hand in front of her breaking the daydream.

"Umm, not long. I must have got there around half 6."

"They didn't… did they?" His meaning got across.

"No. No, you got there in time." And she was forever thankful for it.

"Pizza and film night?" he offered, not wanting to leave her alone quite yet.

"Hmmm, you're reading my mind." She smiled. "I've just got a few phone calls and a shower and we can kill the night with a movie marathon... if you're game." His eyes twinkled as he smiled. "Good, now I need to phone Queen and grovel." she grumbled, reaching for her mobile from the table where her bag lay.

"_Oliver _Queen?" Bart asked, pausing his motions.

"Hmmm. Lex has me dating him. I was meant to meet him at 8 tonight."

Bart's pulse skyrocketed, Ollie didn't know yet, surely she wouldn't be telling him the truth, right?

Bart hovered by the coffee maker while she called.

Chloe hit the call button and tucked her legs underneath her, then snapped them back out as the pain hit her.

"Aspirin." she mouthed to Bart while it rang. He nodded and started his search through the cupboards. Chloe started nibbling at her thumb nail while it rang. If she had lost her chance with Queen, Lex would be mad as hell. On and on it continued. Finally, the voicemail lady offered her the option to leave a message. So much for a phone call. She decided to end the call without leaving a message. He was probably out, or he'd just ignored it… suppose she deserved that.

"Not answering." she explained to Bart. He nodded and brought her two tablets and a glass of water.

"Any request for the pizza?"

"Hmmm." she pondered. "Something so fatty I slip into a food coma and enjoy my death?" Bart grinned and took his leave.

Chloe stood to go to the shower, but paused on her way, retrieving her phone again and sending a text to Lex.

'_RL-90, ASAP'_

There was a text awaiting her as she came out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her torso and dripping hair.

'_What happened?'_

She tapped back out a quick reply, hearing her front door click open again, Bart returning no doubt.

'_Bad lead.'_

She dressed into her comfiest pyjamas, the kind that hugged you and made you feel like you were in a snuggle monster's arms. She wrapped a dressing gown over her, a fluffy thing that wasn't really needed for warmth, but it covered the bruises that were going to darken soon. She stepped out from the bedroom and words tumbled from her lips with ease at the sight.

"Have I _ever_ told you how much I love you?"

There, lined along the counter was the most magnificent display she had ever seen. Three boxes of extra large and- she inhaled,- extra cheesy pizza, her favourite sweets, three different popcorn flavours, and the favourite bagged blend of coffee that she rarely ever could find the energy to travel to buy. Her mouth was salivating at the mere memory of its taste. Bart grinned at her in reply.

"You never need to. I know." he joked and wriggled into his place on the sofa. "We've got a little of everything from every genre, so I will be a gentleman and let you have first pickings."

"Oh Bart, you spoil me."

"Someone's got to." She laughed and grabbed the pizzas on her way to him. She spotted the DVD's lined up around the TV. "Oh baby, the latest Die Hard!" She grinned.

"You only want to watch it because you're crushing on his son."

"Choose whatever reason you like, but I've made up my mind." She lowered herself to the couch.

"Alright alright. Pizza first I presume." Chloe nodded, finding somewhere comfy in her bruised condition. "I've got the Hawaiian because I know what a freak you are. The Margherita for classic taste principles, and, the Meat Medley for the working man."

"Uh-huh. So, which one are you eating?" she laughed out, accepting the Hawaiian with a happy smile.

"So, you don't want that coffee?" he teased back.

"Forgive me?" she pleaded with her eyes. They still had such spirit in them even after a day like today.

"Start the damn movie and I'll bring you the coffee." Chloe smiled. She was lucky to have someone like Bart. Very very lucky.

* * *

><p>Dinah sat herself down in Ollie's chair. He hadn't answered her calls, hadn't replied to Bart's texting attempts and she had decided to pay him a visit now.<p>

By the sounds of the running water turning off, he'd just come out of the shower. By the gym equipment he hadn't bothered to pack away yet, she was relatively happy she'd chosen _after_ the shower and not before.

Getting comfy, she toed off the boots and unfastened the knife holsters on her thigh.

"I'm not in the mood Dinah, get out." His voice confirmed his statement. He sounded pissed. And she was going to make his day worse. Knowing just how quickly Arrow had fallen head over heels for this little blonde.

Her positivity regarding them had turned sour. She had no want to soften the blow for him.

"Let me guess, little miss sunshine didn't come to your play date." She stayed sitting, ignoring the fact Oliver had walked out of the room.

"Out." he repeated.

"Alright alright… if you really want that." She picked her boots from the floor and stood. "But… of course, if you wanted to know why… I could stay and tell you." The bait was dropped and the billionaire fish stuck his head out from the kitchen, glaring at the fisher.

"This better be good."

"Then you won't like what I'm about to say." The truth came out with a edge of superiority Oliver couldn't place. "Your plaything stumbled across our location on 42nd street while looking for Arrow. Naturally, the little bird got in over her head. Another few minutes later and she wouldn't have been as 'innocently' seductive as you seem to like." She watched the emotions play over his face, annoyance first as she spoke, then suspicion… and then anger. Blaring fiery red anger.

"Where is she?"

"Safe." Dinah simply answered.

"Where. Is. She?" he repeated, crossing the room.

"Don't you want the full story?" she teased again, slipping from his grasp neatly.

"I'm not in the mood for games Dinah."

What difference a few months could make… what difference a blonde little Luthor minion could make.

What a very quick difference.

He never felt anything close to this for her, and she'd been by his side for almost a year now. She'd been in and out of his bed. She'd seen bad and good, and still this Luthor demon got more than she did. She felt her anger slip from the reins.

"Who are you planning to go as? Queen who got stood up? Or Arrow who was busy saving some other girls from another location?" Ollie sighed, seeing her point and found himself to sit on the arm of the sofa.

"Tell me."

"Clark broke the doors off everything and took the crooks to see the inside of metropolis' cells. She was as bruised as the others, but Bart stopped as he went past. She asked where you were… so as far as she knows you were with machine man and fish boy checking out the other house, saving girls and the like."

Dinah looked up to see Oliver's head in his hands. She let him come back in his own time. It took a few minutes, but he exploded his anger in a single curse.

"Fuck." He lifted his head to her, ashamed of himself. "I can't even keep her safe when she's meant to be with me." Dinah crossed the room to him, offering her hand to his shoulder.

"It's not your fault. You know that, right?"

"The woman needs constant fucking surveillance."

"Between Oliver and Green Arrow you're doing all you can. But the girl is trouble herself."

"Where is she?"

"Dunno. Bart's with her."

"Bart?!" The single name seemed to send his anger firing again.

"He's comforting her and that's it. He knows that. Besides, the first thing she asks for being jolly green can really bring a guy down a few pegs."

"I should see her." Dinah held out her arm, stopping the warrior from donning his armour.

"If you want to do what's best for her, you'll leave her tonight. You'll pretend you know nothing. You'll let her phone Oliver Queen tomorrow and you'll act like you were stood up. You'll keep Arrow inside so you don't go psycho and kill anyone, and you'll stick to the story. The moment she gets a whiff that you were doing anything else and you'll be top of Lex Luthor's cabinet of decapitated trophy heads."

"She wouldn't do that." And he sounded so sure of himself.

"Really?" Dinah's disbelief came shining through. "So the allegiance to Lex is nothing. The trade for her old life back means nothing to her." Dinah stepped closer to Oliver, her eyes lifting to his, her face inches from him. "You know you can't trust her."

Oliver looked down at her, and for the first time since they'd called it off he wanted to be with her again. And he knew why, she made him feel powerful, made him feel like he could do anything. Made him a king atop a castle. She had no ulterior motive, she wasn't after his money, wasn't wanting his business, wasn't seeking to get splashed all over the tabloids… she wasn't looking to sell out his identity.

Dinah blinked her long lashes, stepping closer to Oliver.

He found himself again, a hand on her shoulders and stepping around her.

"We can't." he spoke.

"What's so special about her anyway?!" Dinah stalked after his footsteps. "She wants you to sell out for her own freedom and you're head over heels. I want nothing but some fucking company and you can't even do me the decency you used to hand out to ever other girl that flew into your sight."

"You don't have to like her, but you'll keep your opinion of her to yourself."

"Wake up Ollie, she doesn't want you, she wants to sell your identity. She wants nothing more than to see under that mask!" How could he not see how bad she was for him?!

"You're wrong!"

"You're pathetic. Why are you pining for this chic you barely know? She's dirty, she's broken and she's Lex's."

"So were you!" he snapped. A cold quiet enveloped the room. Guilt slamming into both parties.

"But you never pined for me." Dinah spoke, finding the comeback in the silence. Oliver breathed out his anger again, trying to control the waves of emotion hitting him from all directions tonight. "Fine." Dinah snatched her heels from the floor. "Do whatever you like. Just don't expect my help when you're boxed up in one of Lex's labs because of that little bitch."

* * *

><p>"Another one!" Chloe called across the room, pouring herself the sexiest cup of coffee she'd ever made at home.<p>

"No." Bart whined. "No more."

"Yes!" Chloe argued.

"Alright fine. One more." Bart cleared his throat again. "There was an old man from Gosham" Chloe was already grinning from ear to ear. "Who took out his ball to wash 'em. His wife said 'Jack! If you don't put 'em back, I'll stand on the fuckers and squash 'em." Chloe laughed over her coffee.

"I really don't see why you find these so funny." Though her laughter was infectious to him too.

"How can you not love dirty limericks?!" She settled herself down into the sofa again as Bart knelt to change film. "Okay, okay I've got one." Chloe set her coffee on the table after a quick sip. "There once was a fellow O'Doole, who found little red spots on his tool. His doctor; a cynic, said 'Get out of my clinic, and wipe off that lipstick you fool!'" Chloe laughed to herself pleased with the memory. Her eyes pleaded with Bart again.

"Okay, fine. One more and then we watch the film and start on the sweets." Chloe clapped her hands like a happy child. Bart rolled his eyes, wondering how he hadn't discovered her love for these dirty poems before. "A pirate, history relates, was scuffling with some of his mates, when he slipped on a cutlass, which rendered him nutless and practically useless on dates!" Chloe rocked back on the sofa, howling with laughter. Bart could help but smile at her, she was so carefree like this. Even battered and bruised, aching every time she moved, she was beautifully amazing.

Chloe calmed down only to see the movie paused and Bart looking at her curiously.

"What?" She lifted herself up to catch her reflection in the mirror. Nothing wrong there.

"You moved." he stated. Chloe smiled, tagging onto his words as his eyes roamed the penthouse.

"Temporary." she added.

"And?" he prompted. She grinned, knowing what he wanted.

"And you may have been right about Lex getting inside my head. _May_." she repeated. "The jury is still out." He smirked, and settled back down, the remote in his hand. Chloe took it from him before he could press the button.

"Ah-ah. Since we're having these kinds of talks. What was happening earlier?"

"I already said, we stumbled across and we ended up in time."

"Full story Bart."

He narrowed his eyes and reached for the remote from her. She evaded his normal speed with ease. Clearly he was in a playing mood or he would have just taken it at super speed.

"There's not a lot more to tell. We stumbled across the information, tracked them down in several places in Europe, but we always got there a day too late. Found they were in Metropolis and we decided not to waste any time before they moved on."

"I'm glad you came when you did." And she laid her lips in a quick kiss to his cheek. He grinned and reached for the remote, she tugged it back from him again.

"You really wanna play this game?" he challenged, a sparkle in his eye.

"No super speed and I won't bite."

"Usually I'd be game, but you can barely move Chlo-"

"Scared?" she taunted. "Terrified you're going to suffer another humiliating defeat?"

"You'll get hurt." he warned.

"When has that ever stopped anyone?" She stood, waving the remote between her fingers.

"Chlo, give me the controller." He stood too, on the opposite side of the sofa that she currently stood on.

"Or what?"

"I'll tickle you." he threatened. Her smile dropped, her eyes darkened.

"You wouldn't." she tested, uncertain. "I'm injured."

"Then give me the remote, or I'll be super speed tickle and you'll be a mess."

With a grumble, she threw Bart the remote.

"You're evil." she hissed, but grinned and wriggled back into her comfy spot leaning against him as he restarted the film.

"We'll finish this when you have ribs again." She smiled up at him and pulled open the offered bag of jelly sweets, evading all the blackcurrant flavour ones.

* * *

><p>By midnight Oliver was still awake.<p>

By 1o'clock he was considering visiting her.

By 2o'clock he was dressed in his Green Arrow gear and outside her window, but he stopped himself from entering. Bart was crashed, asleep on the sofa, while she laughed to an old fashion comedy film he'd never seen. He could see her bruises, see her pain as she hurt from laughing, but she was happy.

Dinah was wrong, there was nothing wrong with the girl, she was perfect. Oliver felt better having seen her, it was better to have something other than his wild imagination when it came to Dinah's story. He pulled his Arrow phone from his pocket.

'_I'm glad you're okay' _he text out, as simple as could be. He considered erasing it several times, and writing something else… but this was all he could think to say when he looked at her. He sent her the message and watched her head turn to the vibrating phone. She smiled even from looking at the sender and reached across to open the message.

Within seconds her reply came back.

'_I missed you too'_

Ollie felt a warmth encompass his body.

Whatever noise came from the film claimed Chloe's attention and woke up Bart. Oliver took a step back, feeling safe leaving her as she was. He turned himself around, and set off home to actually get some sleep now that the nightmares would stop.

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><p>Bart finally left around 4am, finally letting her collect her package from the front desk. RL-90 was an updated version of its predecessor and healer, RL-65. Lex had handed his scientists a test tube of the original and had them remove the aggressive side effects. The chemical was still being developed to its best form without any consequences at all.<p>

But RL-90 was the best so far, it's only side-effect was **extreme** drowsiness.

It practically knocked you out the next minute after you drank it for a dreamless sleep.

Chloe settled herself back into bed, drank the potion down. The effects were quick and she felt herself sleepy before she could lay the bottle back down.

Her head hit the pillow and she was gone, the empty container rolling from her hand and dropping soundlessly to the carpeted floors.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Next chapter up soon :)<p>

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><p>Oki-dokie, so, as amazing as reviews were, I'm straighteneing some things out. Just for my own piece of mind.<p>

I know I'm pedantic about spelling, grammar and americanisms. But it bothers me, so you'll just have to find a way to deal with that if my author notes bugs you :) Also, the idea of a Beta is a very interesting one (thanks for the offer too) but I like to work on my own. It's my process, and so far it's working (with a few minor plot slips which I will ignore, haha) so I'm sticking with it, but thanks for the offer.

Someone mentioned the divide between Oliver and Arrow's personalities and approaches towards dear Chloe. Good point. Very good. But I have an answer (which was totally planned and not just a happy coincidence ;))  
>Prepare for a little lesson kiddies.<br>**Deindividuation;** a psychological term refering to the loss of one's identity. Happens when the person in question takes on a role or group. Increases if the person can hide their facial features behind a mask, sunglasses or costume of some description.  
>So, basically, in putting on the costume, Oliver can be more arrogant, he can show more emotions he wouldn't usually and plus that to the whole 'he doesn't want Chloe to know' thing. You get the two personas we see in Arrow and Ollie. (As I said; totally planned)<p>

If you have anything else you want answering, or tiny little nitpicks, I'd love to hear them. They aren't bothersome, I quite like it because it shows people are actually reading and taking in what I've written and it makes me smile that you want to ask questions :)

Review if you feel it ;)


	17. Price of Life

So, it seems like my brain took a holiday without my permission.  
>My usual chapters (earlier than chapter 15) were around 6,000 words, and then they became strangely 4,500 ish.<p>

I finally figured out why. I had changed the font on the microsoft word document, so it would be easier to speed read and check for errors. And, naturally I was still working on my previous nine pages = one chapter theory, not being aware that the change to font changed the size of it. So... I know it's not _short_ in length, but it's shorter than the others. The next one or two i've already edited may have this length too. But I feel you can deal with it :)

Reviews= yummy. Reviewers can feel free to accept free hugs :)

**Previously; **Chloe was saved by Bart and crew. Bart had some Chloe-time. Oliver raged. Dinah got pissed. Chloe had a cute moment with Arrow. Chloe took a new version of RL-65 and we left her clonked out on the bed snoozing.

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><p><span>Chapter Seventeen; Price of life<span>

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><p>'<em>I'm a little jaded in the romance department and the only thing i know about relationships is that someone usually winds up getting hurt'<em> – Lex Luthor (Season Three, Episode Legacy)

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><p>Chloe woke late, around 5pm. Another bad side effect. The more it heals, the longer you sleep. From the dipping sun, she could presume the damage was extensive. A lot worse than she'd originally imagined. Guess she owed her life to that damn drug.<p>

She pushed the duvet from her, the cold air setting tingles across her previous warmth. It was one of those days you had second thoughts about ever getting out of bed. But she had things to do, the bed would have to wait for her tonight.

Her hand reached to the phone, expecting the three missed calls from Lex, but he came second to a very important phone call she had to make.

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><p>Oliver's phone vibrated on his desk, he was deep in work, the kind of deep that usually meant he ignored everything else until this stupid piece was finished.<br>Besides, the last time he looked it was closing in on 6pm. He had an agreement with himself he would bail on this if it wasn't done by 6. It would wait.

But his concerntration was fading with every second the phone sang. As it continued to ring, his curiosity drew his gaze for a flicker over it. Chloe. His mind instantly revisited the issue of ignorance and put a huge red cross through it. He was going to answer it; that was sure. But he had to have the line between Arrow and Oliver drawn. As far as Oliver Queen knew, he was grumpy she had stood him up.

Before the rings would stop and she'd give in, he snatched his phone and slid his thumb across the screen to answer. He clicked into a persona he didn't want to take on.

"Nice of you to find the time to call." he started, already feeling like shit for saying the words. And god damn her, she started to apologise, making him feel ten times worse.

"I'm sorry." She sounded so sincere it was shocking for him. "Work called, and I'd forgotten I'd promised I'd help with something. I figured I could just nip in and out, but it took longer than I thought and I'm sorry I couldn't get to phone you." Oliver didn't know how to reply, not only was she apologising for being kidnapped, but lying and blaming it on work… which in one way was true; it was work, but it wasn't anything she should apologise for. He felt sick in the bottom of his stomach, he was a monster for even hearing her words of apology.

The line between his personas had to stay clear, especially for Lex, and thus; her.

"Make it up to me?" he offered, wanting to end the pain and awkward situation as quick as he could.

"I'd love to." Her relief was clear, her words honest. Oliver struck another thick black line through Dinah's thoughts; She wasn't just playing him. "Tonight, tomorrow night. Name a time and I'm all yours."

"That easy huh?" What about her bruises, how was she planning to explain those? Why would she even offer tonight? But… he did want to see her. "Tonight?" he suggested. He wanted to touch her, to see her alive and happy... He wanted to have her in his arms where he could keep her safe.

He didn't even care what he had on his schedule, he hadn't looked. Whatever it was, he'd change it. Nothing ranked higher than her in that moment.

"Tonight can work fine."

"Good, then I'll come and pick you up."

"… You're really pushing this apology Queen." she stated, catching onto his game plan and resuming her usual façade.

"What can I say, I usually don't give second chances to someone who stands me up."

"New experiences are good for you." And her personality was back, no more apologies, just her strong frame. He grinned, finding it as thrilling as he first had.

"As true as this may be. I'll still be picking you up at 8 tonight."

"Fine. But no more is said about last night if I agree to this." That worked well for him, he couldn't keep up the charade of being annoyed at her when he knew the truth.

"Deal. Luthor Mansion still?"

"Actually, I'm at the Gold Tower, on Oasis Avenue."

"Did the mansion get too crowded for you?" he chuckled, the pen twirling over his fingers with an artful skill he'd taught himself in one too many board meetings.

"8 o'clock Mr Queen, if you're a minute late you'll be paying for it all evening. Keep that in mind." And his phone cut off.

His fingers reached across to his desk speaker.

"Vivian." he called. "I need a table for two at le'Bicane, 8pm tonight."

"Tonight sir? I don't know if I can-"

"Any price they want, just get me the table."

"Of course Sir."

Oliver leant back in his chair, his mood elevated, his spirits up and he stared back down at his computer.

He felt like king of his castle again.

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><p>Chloe smiled to the phone, expecting much worse from Queen. After all, it wasn't everyday a billionaire had practice healthily dealing with his date not showing up.<p>

She stood from the bed feeling more alive than she ever had felt and made her way to the bathroom mirror. It always amazed her how effective RL-90 was. She was battered and bruised when she went to sleep and now, she woke up with a radiant glow. Her skin looked better than usual, like she'd come home from a month's stay at a spa. She felt awake and ready for the day, there wasn't a bruise in sight, wasn't an ache in her joints and she could truly smile that last night _could_ be put behind her as a terrible memory.

She turned to shower and caught sight of her back. RL-90 could never heal the scars, they were already healed over in their own way, just little pink lines remained, but she swore that every time she used it (this being the second time in her life), they faded that miniscule percentage more. Her first adventure with RL-90 had been a previous job where a close call had become a _really_ close brush with dead, thankfully, the job had been for Lex and his overprotective hand had swooped in to save her at the right time.

Thing were good, things were looking up, but her morning shower brought her morning to a tipping point. The razor cut her fragile baby-new skin several times while shaving, the water seemed to beat every harder on her undeveloped toughness.

Another downside of RL-90, heightened sensitivity. It went away after a few days, but for the first day every touch, every pin prick of pain felt like the first experience of her life. The price of vanity.

Chloe's morning went downhill from there, she sat downing a coffee and reading the morning paper the building had delivered outside the door daily. Two papercuts later her hand froze. She re-read the headline.

_'General Sam Lane passes after a long battle with a brain tumour.'_

Uncle Sam had passed. The cold anchor of reality came smashing through her other petty worries of her appearance and work. Morality… humanity's greatest fear and weakness.

_'General Lane passed away last night from an inoperable tumour pushing on his brain. His legacy is survived by his two daughters Lois and Lucy. Both-'_

Chloe stopped and shoved the paper into the bin. Her eyes brimmed with tears. Fucking Lionel, fucking Lex. She wanted nothing more than to have been there for her uncle. He was always there for her, he taught her to fight, taught her to stand up for herself when the other kids picked on her. He'd been scary to her as a child, but the kind of scary that would always be ten times worse for anyone who tried to hurt her. She missed the days when she would spend summer with Lois, teasing the boys at the base where Sam was stationed and getting told off by Sam for wearing such revealing clothing. Well, more so Lois than her.

…Everyone had a time though. Everyone had an end, coming closer and closer as each day passed.

_I was pretty close to my end last night_, she thought sickly and pushed the idea away as quickly as it came.

She couldn't even research the date for his funeral, she'd want to go. If she knew when, she'd find a way to go. And if Lois saw her… if someone recognised her. She didn't want the question she couldn't answer.

She'd give anything to see him one last time, but… he wouldn't like who he was talking to. She could imagine him now, asking what the hell she was doing, working with the Luthors, playing bed mate to someone like Lex. Hell, he'd be livid about Arrow; his niece making out with some random stranger in a mask. Dating Queen to get his business. And he was right, what the hell had she got herself into? He wouldn't be proud of her, he wouldn't even like her. He'd call her a disappointment, he'd tell her she needed to straighten herself out and get out of this hole she was calling her life. And to think she was happy here, to think she enjoyed the time she spent with these men… she'd be nothing more than a cheap whore in her uncle's eyes. Another tear ripped free from its prison, sliding down her cheek in a blazing track.

There was nothing else she knew, nothing else she could do. She was working to get out, she _was_. It was this or death. She heard the ghost of her Uncle tell her at least in death she would have had honour and dignity, but now… she was nothing.

And her mood was shattered. Everything she had been happy about seemed trivial and pointless. A big cloud hung over her figure as she slumped against the breakfast bar.

She lifted her head for a look around the apartment, she had empty pizza boxes littering the floor with memories of the night before, bags of sweets stuffed only with the wrappers of others or the reject flavours neither partier had favoured. It felt like the party her mind had held this morning, only instead of the partiers sleeping off the high, they'd been chased from the party leaving nothing but a mess.

Chloe wiped the tears, cleaned her mood and pulled a trash bag from under the sink. Her movements were slow, desperately wanting to clear the mess, but yet to keep the happy memories hidden in the wreck. The black jellybabies they threw at each other with laughter, knowing neither liked the flavour. The pizza she'd eaten far more than her fill of while he grumbled about the next pizza run. The sofa covered in blankets they'd spent the night under as the films progressed. It was a happy mess really, it held all the good she knew from the night before.

What would her Uncle think of Bart? Hell, he'd probably say she was dragging the kid through the dirt with her.

Chloe closed the door firmly on her thoughts of her Uncle. No point in upsetting herself anymore.

Her wet eyes scouted the apartment… it was a disaster zone. She vaguely remembered declining Bart's offer to help clean up, but for the life of her she had no reason why.

"Some party huh?" The voice froze her, not now. Slowly she turned, and cursed whatever evil god was watching and playing with her fate strings.

"I'm not in the mood. Please leave."

"Leave huh?" Arrow stepped into the apartment from the balcony. Chloe's thoughts went to the cameras and held her hand to stop his movement, withdrawing the phone. A few taps and her brow furrowed, guess she'd forgot to turn them back on before she went to sleep, suppose it was wise considering the evidence Bart and her had left of their last night. "Clever girl came with video surveillance." he noted.

"Clever girl is not in the mood for dealing with you. Leave."

"What, Lex isn't whispering in your ear and you still don't want to see me." Chloe groaned internally, she still had to update Lex about yesterday.

"Leave Lex out of this."

"Why is he even still _in _this?! Why not just go? Run. Leave the city, leave the country and hide yourself." He stepped forwards again. "You're more than capable."

"And be on the run for the rest of my life and living in fear?" she scoffed and shoved the pizza box into the trash bag.

"I think you'd finally be able to settle on a mood for longer than a day." he snapped cleverly.

"Just go, alright."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He crossed the room, she moved further away from him. "Is this because of last night?"

"No." she answered firmly.

"And how the hell are you not still bedridden and covered in bruises?!"

"Why? Did you come expecting to play bed maid. Sorry to disappoint."

Arrow stepped further. Unless this was how she did anger, it wasn't RL-65. But, how else could she heal so quickly? "Stop looking at me like this!" she ordered feeling the heat of his inspecting gaze.

"What did you take?"

"Jesus Christ _Dad_!" she hissed and violently pushed sweet packets into the trash.

"Is this some twisted side effect of some drug Lex has been cooking in his lab?"

"No. This is the effect of someone unwanted crashing in on a girl when she's just-" She stopped for only a second, a pause for breath to anyone else, but anger had always been one sure way to break through her usual defences and lies. "I'm not having a good day. Please, leave."

"We need to talk."

"No. We don't." she corrected without energy. He stopped his movement towards her, instead choosing to stand still.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."

"It's not about that, I know you were helping the others, I ge-"

"You can say that… but I know I let you down." His words sounded so broken she couldn't help but crumble her walls of defence.

"I'm in one piece, that's all that matters." She heard his footsteps come closer, her eyes still locked on the floor. His arms come around her in a gesture she would have never pinned him for.

"I know I can't ask you to stop. But be more careful?" She lifted her head to his, seeing his light spray of stumble across a strong jawline, lips made for kissing, a straight sharp nose and then black glasses covering his eyes. Something so familiar about that jawline. She brushed the thought off; she'd clearly been thinking about him in too much detail recently. "I'd hate if something happened to you." His fingers brushed the loose strands of her hair back around her ear. Her skin blazed where he touched.

"You on the clock again?" she asked, quiet, barely spoken.

"Regretfully. We'll meet again though." He touched his lips to her forehead and stepped back to the doors by the balcony.

"That's all I get?" she joked. He grinned over his shoulder to her.

"Until next time Blondie."

Chloe stood in the living room, smiling to herself.

No time to rest for the wickedly sinful though, she reset the cameras and dialled the devil's cell phone.

"I presume the drug is responsible for the late call."

"I just got out of the shower."

"Hmm. So?"

"Remember the lead for a shop on 42nd street" That some gimp suit sexual perverts had led her to... "Well, turns out this wasn't the right end of the offered stick and they were in the trade of women as sexual workers. I got a little tangled, but I'm alive."

"By yourself?"

Chloe toyed with the answer in her mouth, but somehow she couldn't sell the alone thing.

"No. Our favourite vigilante crew came knocking before I got the chance." More like 'before her light was snuffed out', but Lex didn't need to know that.

"I trust RL-90 has cleared everything."

"Perfect, I have a date with Queen tonight."

"Last night cut into your date?"

"Sadly, but my charm won me another chance."

"I expect-"

"A phone call the moment I get back."

"I was going to say that you'd make up for it with Queen, but that also applies."

"I'll be on my best behaviour." she sickly promised and ended the call before her soul floated any further away from her.

Lex was… well, he was a pitchfork away from the devil for most of his life… but, not with her. He cared… as much as anyone like Lex was capable of. Chloe smiled, and turned her attention back to her Green Arrow file.

No leads on the costume left her with the archery idea and the martial arts area.

Chloe spent the rest of her daylight hours hacking martial arts centres for teacher's information and pupils details. Nothing seemed to add up, she had a few possible, but further digging just led to nothingness.

By 7pm, she had a list as long as her arm of names of prospective Green Arrows. Some she'd visit in person, others she'd look into further over her laptop, but she had narrowed her field to a few names. There was always the chance Vordigan taught him to fight, or his billionaire hired privately… but this was something, which was always better than nothing.

Chloe shut the lid on her beloved laptop, stretching out her joints as she stood, but the action was more from habit than actual need, she didn't feel cramped or stiff like she used to. RL was a wonderful invention for days like that where she spent hours over a laptop.

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><p>At 7:50, a coffee stood on the sink, half drank while she played with her hair again. Up… or down?<p>

She stood in her dress already, the heels and clutch by the door, her wrap over the kitchen chair.

Down, she decided, it would cover some of the scars, even if she removed the wrap, she would be able to hide them to a passers glance. With a smile, she lifted the boost bra up again, wishing she had more on the front for occasions like this.

But, her attitude and feminine wiles would have to suffice, like they always did. Chloe batted her eyelashes for the mirror, approving the look. As much as she disliked the time women spent focussed on their appearance, there was certain thrill to getting dressed up and applying make-up when you had a date. It was like the preliminaries of a race, it set you up for how easy the next length would be. Her fingers pinched the lipstick lifting it to her lips to paint them darker rouge than they were already.

Happy with her final result, she slipped her feet into the heels she didn't care much for, but needed for height, and tugged the wrap over her, the clutch secure in the other 'd changed shoes three times already, the sensitive skin finding her previous favourite heels to rub her feet and squeeze her toes. As much as she grumbled about RL-90, it was a life-saver. So instead, she'd chosen a more comfortable shoe, it still hurt to walk in, but she didn't think she'd be on her feet for long.

With a smile Chloe dumped the pass-card for her accommodation into the growing clutch, snuggled between the perfume, lipstick and condoms. She read her phone for the time and then threw that in too.

It was showtime.

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><p>Oliver leaned against the column of the entrance hall, watching the elevator with eager eyes. At 7:59 precisely, she stepped out and did not disappoint him in any way. Not that she ever could.<p>

"You look stunning." Oliver could barely believe how dangerously tempting she looked, it was torture to keep his hands to himself. Knowing what it felt like to touch, to kiss… His body warmed at the mere thought. It was like her skin was calling out to him.

"Thank you. You look pretty dapper yourself." She smiled at him and accepted his offered arm. "So, where does the infamous Mr Queen take his dates to woo them?" Her tone was light and playful. God, he could see himself getting in over his head tonight. How could a woman like this be so enticing? He'd seen her in the grip of raw maddening anger, he'd seen her fearful, tearful and lustful. He'd watched her play of emotions like a Shakespearian drama.

"You should really just call me Oliver you know." She grinned wide at him, and he was already lured into her trap of seduction. She was perfect.

"Oliver… sounds _prestigious_." she complimented -or at least he _thought_ she did, her words seemed to have backhanded insult- following his footsteps into the night air. "And prestigious Oliver has a very nice car." Now that, he was sure that was a compliment as she left his arm to get closer to the car.

Money came with some benefits. Most women knew the car would travel fast and that it had a sleek design, but this wild thing actually seemed to appreciate more than that. "Wow." she breathed. "Lamborghini Reventon." Her hand touched the dark paintwork. "650 base horse power, 0 to 60 in 3.4." Her laughter twinkled in the light wind. "It's beautiful."

"Not my favourite, but I like it." he agreed, watching her eyes light up as the doors rose.

"Well, who _can_ afford to take their favourite car out all the time?" she mocked.

"Actually, I lost my favourite." he admitted. She turned back to face him, her lips in a smile. Those damn perfect lips.

"You misplaced a car?" He took a step closer to her. "The tabloids claim you to be a great man, clearly I was misled by the true extent of the meaning." God how he wanted to kiss that smile, to touch her.

"It ended up in chop shop, truth be told." Another step and she was pressed an inch from the car and an inch from Oliver.

"Well, you know what they say; you're not a powerful man until you've got enemies." He chuckled, his breath tickling her neckline. "Any idea who's got it in for you?"

"None." The one word from his lips, when he was this close, seemed seductive in its own way.

"Sucks to be you." she spoke, lifting her eyes to meet his.

"I _strongly_ disagree." Just a kiss, just one… she looked so amazing… would she know he was Arrow from a kiss? Best play it safe. Oliver stepped back but just a little. "You look fantastic." he repeated.

"Flattery will get your everywhere." she giggled and with her hands a ghost from his waist she danced past him and slid into the car.

He was in over his head.

In. Over. His. Head.

There she was, this slip of a dress. One of those that tied around her neck and dipped tastefully low into her cleavage, and there her perfect breasts sat looking full and flush, daring him to touch. The red silk tied in at her waist -a tiny waist to match her tiny figure- and then flared out with her hips to drift around her knees in layers. If it wasn't for the scrap of material she had wrapped around her shoulders, the sweet curve of her back would be shown as she turned away from him.

He thought of his hands all over her. And then he thought of something else, her scars… surely she knew she'd have to explain them by the end of the night…

Oliver rounded the car and slipped in the driver's side, but before he started the car he turned to his date. His face was serious, all except the eyes; they shine with a playful mood. His eyes gave him away. He could be the world's best poker player if he could control those eyes, but as much as he tried, they betrayed him.

"We're not going anywhere until I get a name." he stated, leaning back in his seat to further his point.

"You have to earn that."

"I can be stubborn." he challenged.

"As can I." she retorted, rising to his challenge.

"Okay, so, how do I earn a name?"

"I have a few ideas." she teased, turning in her place as much as she could allow.

"Any of them that I'm going to like?" Suddenly staying in a confined space with her seemed like a bad idea, all he could think of was crossing the distance between them and taking the lips she insisted upon playing with.

"Hmm, you could agree this romantic notion you have in your head is forced and not a natural male behaviour."

"That would be lying." She narrowed her eyes.

"I don't believe you." And her spirited mood was swallowed by cynicism.

"Ever been in love?" Chloe didn't offer an answer, so Oliver filled the silence again. "It changes things."

"And what happened to the girl?" she asked, always perceptive to the underlying message.

"She was in love with someone else."

"I'm sorry." She knew the story, and she knew who, the papers had been mad for the little time her cousin had turned the tables of the billionaire's world. But, Lois, in love with someone else. That was something the paper's hadn't spoken of. Who? Oh who cared, she wasn't part of Lois's life anymore. But Oliver was here, looking at her like she had changed the tone of the evening. Chloe smiled. "I have another idea."

Oliver felt a warning at her sudden change back to the playful mood.

"You have?"

"Depends how much you feel you need a name." He rose an eyebrow and her smile grew. "Kiss me."

"And I get your name?"

"That's the deal. Unless it's too high a price for you, I c-" Oliver closed the distance, taking her lips like he'd wanted since the first sight he'd had of her that evening.

Her stomach swam in a pooled heat, her eyes closed to live in the feeling of his lips to hers. His hand snaked up her neck, nestling in her locks as he brought her closer, all his need and desire pushed into one movement and one kiss.

Chloe felt a passion with him she had never thought to feel again. But as she dove for more, her tongue touching to his lips, he was pulling back. She opened her eyes to find him a breath away, his chest rising and falling with the uncontrolled race of lust.

"Happy?" he asked, his voice coming across more husky than he expected.

"Very." She smiled. "Chloe." she spoke, passing her name across the space.

"It suits you." he replied. "Do I get a last name or will that cost me extra?"

As much as she wanted another kiss, she relented her name, after all, it wouldn't be truthful.

"I never lied about that." she lied. "Chloe Maine."

It was the name she used when doing business with Lex, it was what she'd built herself a fake life around and no matter much he dug he would find no cracks in her life. Truth be told, there was a girl named Chloe Maine. Lived alone with her abusive father, had hospital records of broken bones and other abuse related injuries. The girl was currently living under another name living it up, her father committed suicide in prison. Lex had bought the girls story, and paid for the child to have another life, it had become Chloe's past for anyone who happened to dig. Chloe Sullivan, she was missing, declared dead.

"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you Chloe Maine." Chloe could almost hear the filing of her name for him to run through every system later. But for now, she was on a seduction mission. Her target; Queen's bedroom by tonight.

"Now will you drive?" she questioned, "I'm starving."

He chuckled.

"With pleasure."

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Reviewers can have a free hug. I'm generous like that :)<p>

**Next time;** The first date :D


	18. Dangers of Dating

Some good idea from reviewers... some impatience too. Haha. I'm loving it.

**Previously; **Chloe got a date with Queen. Uncle Sam died and made Chloe moody. Arrow popped by and gave her a hug :) Oliver traded a kiss for her name and they drove to their date.

**Now; **The patiently *cough cough* awaited date.

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><p><span>Chapter<span> Eighteen; Dangers of Dating

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><p>'<em>Samson trusted Delilah with the secret of his strength. But his trust didn't prevent Delilah from betraying him'<em> – Lionel Luthor (Season Seven, Episode Wrath)

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><p>It was a short drive, no longer than 10 minutes on basis small talk of how the day was going for each body. Oliver was bogged in work, Chloe had been doing Lex's files and folders.<p>

"Strange that you're the first assistant I've ever seen Lex have, or invite to any social event." Oliver noted, stopping the car outside the restaurant.

"We're eating here?!" Chloe stared at the red italics of the sign. Jesus Christ… "How in hell's name did you even get a reservation? We only agreed a few hours ago!"

Oliver chuckled.

"We all have our secrets." he spoke mysteriously and exited the car, tossing the keys to the valet.

Chloe was too much in awe of the place to notice where Oliver was taking her, or that his hand had somehow found its way into hers and she was happily being tugged through a very crowded restaurant. But, as they passed the only empty table in sight she became more curious than fascinated. The waiter led them out onto the balcony outside, the empty balcony lined with lit candles, roses and one cosy table for two.

"Jesus Christ." she whispered in wonder to herself. And it was a damn good thing she wasn't strictly religious or she'd be repenting for the number of times she cursed that name tonight.

Oliver grinned at her reaction, the woman had clearly never been romanced.

He tugged gently on her hand, leading her to the chair he pulled out for her. She looked miles away.

"So, you never did tell me about your relationship to Lex." Chloe blinked herself back to the table, finding Oliver sat opposite her, the heel of her shoe nudging his shin as she got comfy. And as she formed her answer she dealt with the first issue of comfort, removing the heels. She toed them off with ease and leant back on the chair.

"Lex is an old friend. I was in an intern position for Lionel and Lex decided he liked my work more than his father did. He hired me for mostly computer stuff, organisation, design, project approval calls and all the boring stuff he didn't have the time to do himself."

"And yet this is the first time I've ever seen you or heard of you." he probed.

"Well, I still had dreams when I started working with Lex. I wanted to travel most of all. I told Lex I was going to quit to fulfil my dreams of travelling. He offered me another proposal. He'd paid for all the travel I desired if I worked for him from wherever I was." she feigned a laugh at the false memory. "Apparently, I was the only assistant that could keep up with his demands that he could stand the presence of." The truth was a much more warped version of that. "I suppose we became friends somewhere along the line. His date fell through for the last event and I stepped up."

"I'm glad." Oliver smiled.

"So how about you? I can't imagine you always wanted to work with the business that makes you so stressed."

"I never said it made me stressed." Chloe grinned instead of flushing at being caught.

"Your eyes sold you out. You talk about work and you get this tired weight on you."

"Perceptive." he admired. "I wanted to continue the family legacy actually."

"I'm sure they're proud of you." She smiled. "But what do you do to relax?" she questioned. "Besides sleep your way through metropolis." she joked lightly.

"I'll ignore that last part shall I?" He did anyway. "I, ummm, I guess just usual stuff."

"Oh com'on, you have to give me more than that." she pleaded, leaning further across the table, her bare foot finding place brushing his knee accidentally, then a second time with more purpose. "Okay, so, say you've just got in, finances aren't balancing, the phone is ringing off the hook, you've found out an employee is selling your secrets to Luthorcorp, and you need to relax, what do you do?"

Oliver didn't know how to reply, his normal answer was to go and shoot arrows at criminals.

"I'd sort the problems."

"Okay, so you've sorted the problems as best you can, but you won't be able to do anymore until tomorrow. What do you do?" He chuckled at her persistence.

"Probably work out." And the answer was honest, he did rely on his exercise more than usual during stress. "What about you Chloe?" he enjoyed saying her name, knowing it wasn't a lie.

"I don't get stressed, but if on the rare occasion, I dabble in a few things. Music, painting… I like to drive as well. Just get in the car and go as far away as I can, as fast as I can with the windows down and clear my head."

The menu's came and went, conversation flowed and by the end of the main meal Chloe found herself actually having fun. And god bless the man he had given her favourite order of coffee to the waiters and they had continually kept her topped up on the stuff, she could melt.

"Okay, best job." she started again, following the pattern of the quick fire questions that had taken over the last half of their meal.

"Astronaut." Oliver grinned as she laughed. "You?"

"Journalist." she answered, completely honest.

"Really, digging through peoples personal lives?"

"I said journalist, not tabloid writer!" She swatted playfully at him. "Uncover the truth, tell the world of the hardships the government try to hide and sweep under the rug."

"Somehow I think I could see you doing that." he complimented.

"Worst job?" she fired off again.

"Surgeon." he chose. She tilted her head in question. "Too much responsibility and pressure. People's lives are in your hands."

"Baker." she answered. "Too much temptation." Oliver joined her in a laugh.

The waiter appeared laying a dessert menu before them both, asking about how their meal was and generic restaurant questions that were required for good service.

Chloe opened the menu and could see herself losing the fight with her willpower, so many delicious things. It was the kind of restaurant that served the best, was the best, took months (or a lot of money) to get a table and didn't put prices on the menu. The kind that had waiters that would shine your shoes, change your napkin every course and juggle if you asked it of them. Oliver watched in delight as her eyes roamed the menu, her teeth coming back out to bite her lip as she made the flash between the top and middle of the list. Tease.

"You can have the both if you can't decide." he offered, a smile on his lips as he leaned back watching her.

"Stop looking at me like I'm a new species of animal." she spoke, not lifting her eyes from the menu.

"I'm simply fascinated by you."

"Fascinated is a bit strong don't you think. I just have trouble making decisions." she defended herself.

"I think fascinating fits very well." For who she was, for what she did, she seemed so _free_ in the last hour. Relaxed, at ease, completely herself, and he loved what he was seeing.

Chloe lifted her eyes to his.

"Ever seen Sophie's choice?" she quizzed. He nodded. "Then you know not to interrupt such an important decision!" she scolded lightly, re-crossing her legs under the table, making a point to brush his leg with the movements.

"Okay, what's the choice between?"

She eyed him sceptically.

"Chocolate fortress and the ice-cream sundae." She felt a blush creep her cheeks as she even said it. He chuckled.

She ducked her head back into the menu. The chocolate fortress had this amazing photo, it was a white chocolate sponge with melt in the middle French chocolate swirls covered in milk chocolate sauce made from scratch and had those little minty twigs arranged around it like a fortress' walls. And it came with a scoop of the purest cream ice-cream on the side. But then there was the traditional ice-cream sundae, layer after layer of ice-cream and different sauces and crispy bits and crunchy tasters and then chocolate flakings…

Why were decisions so difficult?

"-And she'll have the chocolate fortress and the ice-cream sundae." Oliver finished before Chloe could even note that the waiter had even arrived. Before she could make up her mind and stop him, he was gone. She stared down at Oliver across the table.

"I would have made a decision eventually." she claimed, knowing the likelihood was poor.

"I know what you wanted." And there was that smirk that seemed oh so familiarly sexy.

"Really," She lifted her eyes back to his. "And what is it that I am wanting right now?" He could hardly believe the playful woman with the free spirit had turned into his own personal seducer in the blink of her eyes. Her joyful eyes turned into bedroom eyes in nothing less than a split second. She giggled at his pause. "We can do away with this romantic thing now I think. You've done amazing, you really have. But, if you're so set on it, just give me tonight and you can go back to it tomorrow."

Oliver swore his cock just jumped up to salute her order, waiting to dive into her rich treasure. He swallowed, trying to stop the urge to say yes. "Just. One. Night." she purred, her foot snaking to coil around his calf, stirring his desire.

"We have a deal." But his resolve was weak.

"You're really going to deny me what I want?" The seductress had her claws around him with those words.

"I made a deal. I'm going to see it through." She _had_ to admire the stubbornness. It was something she had herself. But she was going to break him.

"We could alw-"

"We're dancing." he stated and stood, taking her hand and escorting her the few metres from her table.

The music had been ignored, little more than the background music, but in the silence she clearly heard the slow steady beat and melodic voice of a female singer.

He pulled her fast to him, his hands on her already and doing worse things for his desire now there was no table between them. "We're doing this _my_ way." he whispered to her, his voice strong under the music. Chloe was already losing herself, his hands felt like they were direct on her skin, driving her mad with intimate caresses. Damn RL-90's side effect was making every touch agony for her. She wanted to throw off the dress that had teased her skin all night and take him. Her mind drifted… what would sex be like on a RL-90 high? Every neuron feeling brand new, every touch magnified by a thousand… an orgasm could actually _blow her mind_. Her eyes swallowed all the lust possible and flashed it up to him, enjoying the proximity.

"My way is more fun. For us both." she purred, her body close to his, her lips speaking to his ear. He had such a strong jawline, straight nose, cut lips designed for kissing, but his eyes, they were pools of emotion; they showed everything.

"If I didn't know better I'd swear you'd been pulled out of hell as my own personal lust demon." he spoke between clenched teeth, moving with her softly to the rhythm. He was a good dancer, sweet, and he knew where to put his feet.

"They say there's a relationship between men that dance and men that fuck." Oliver's grip on her tightened slightly, the sweetness in his eyes consumed by a burning strength. "A man that knows his way around a dance floor… knows his way around the bedroom… and a woman."

"You won't know until at least the third date." he replied. "Even then, I might decide to drag it out, pay you back for little conversations like these." He spun her out and she came sweetly back to him, knowing her own dancing feet very well.

"I can make the next two dates hell for you."

"I can overkill the romance. I'm talking teddy-bears holding hearts between paws and singing delivery men loaded with hundreds of flowers. Every hour of the day. Following you around the city."

"I can take the heat." she vowed and pressed herself flush to him, her lips to his ear. "Can you say the same?" Her purr touched something in him that was directly related with the blood flow to his cock. She grinned.

"You were such a lady before." he chuckled.

"Even ladies have needs, desires_, lusts_."

"You really wanna play this game?" he asked, dark and dangerous.

"I _really_ wanna play this game." she replied, her eyes lifting to his again. He was staring straight into her eyes. Their dance stopped, locked in the battle of wills instead. "A gentleman gives a lady what she wants." she whispered. "He gives her what she _needs._" She lifted onto her tiptoes, closing the distance between them, her lips closer to his.

His lust-filled eyes seemed to beg for her to kiss him.

She could smell victory.

"You're right." His words came like sweet music, "A gentlemen does give a lady what she needs." Chloe smiled, closing the distance between their lips, but Oliver stepped back. "Sometimes what she needs doesn't match with what she wants though." he chuckled and kept hold of her one hand. "You _will_ be romanced Chloe, and then, then I'll fulfil _all_ your naughty dreams." His whispered words stirred her lust in a deeper way she'd never felt before. "Enough dancing for now though." And with a grin he led her back to her seat. And by lord she looked like she was planning a war behind those eyes. A war he looked forward to if he was honest.

Chloe just had time to adjust her wrap and slide the napkin back over her lap before the waiter returned with desserts and drew all her attention.

"Apple pie with fresh cream for the Sir. Chocolate fortress and Ice-cream sundae for the Lady." Chloe could have died in peace just from the sight of them. There was just one choice left, which did she try first. Chocolate first, she justified, mainly because it was closer to her.

If he didn't know better, he'd swear the first bite she'd taken had given her an orgasm. Her moan vibrated all the way from his ears to his cock, teasing the appendage with delights of what was to come. Oliver watched with wide eyes as the tip of her pink tongue came to lick her lips, taking all of the taste. Only then did her eyes re-open and she dove for another bite. He didn't think he could take an entire dessert of her moaning like that. Surely it wasn't that good, she was just… and the sense settled, she was playing him. He looked up to her wink and sly smile and she took another bite.

"I'm still not giving in, no matter how loud you moan." he spoke, breaking the crust of his apple pie. The chef's here did something with cinnamon in their apple pie that made it that extra bit delicious.

"_You_ may not be giving in, but you're not my target." Her eyes dropped to the edge of the table, if she had x-ray vision she'd be staring at his semi-erect cock caged in the suit pants he'd worn.

She dove for the chocolate again, her eyes sparkling.

"How about a trade?" he offered and she paused her cake fork's journey.

"I'm listening."

"A kiss, and you stop this."

"Please, if I keep this up I'd get a lot more than a kiss tonight."

"I didn't say where the kiss was." he added.

"Well now I _am_ listening." She lowered the cake fork to the plate.

"The deals on the table Goldilocks."

Goldilocks? Chloe felt her mind stun, surely it was just coincidental names. There was no way Oliver was Arrow. Her mind laughed the thought off with ease, focussing back on the situation.

"Okay, you have a deal, but I'm only stopping for tonight." she offered.

"I'll take what I can get." Oliver extended his hand and she gracefully shook it, trying to ignore the sparks of electricity that travelled from the contact.

Chloe picked back up her fork with a smile and slipped the dessert into her mouth with a victory grin, her eyes still closing in bliss. She opened them to find his staring again.

"What?" she asked. "It's good cake." she explained, honestly not trying anything. "Whatever effect that had was entirely unintentional." She held up her hands in defence. Oliver chuckled. She could turn him on without even trying. The woman was going to be the death of him.

Mercifully the cake finally finished, and the ice-cream disappeared even faster. Chloe excused herself to the washroom and Ollie dealt with the cheque, not even batting an eye at the total. He slipped a nice tip into the book and taking her clutch and wrap he met Chloe on her way out.

Chloe easily accepted his arm to walk back through the restaurant, tables were filled, waiters dashed between tables with arms of empty and full plates. The bar was filled with dates desperate for a table and she curled up closer to Oliver to avoid a running waitress loaded with trays of glasses, she didn't bother moving back afterwards, she found she liked proximity to him. He was warm, he exuded an air of security and smelled fantastic.

They stepped out into the cold air and she sadly had to detach to slide the wrap around her shoulders and for him to hand his ticket to the valet again. He turned back with a smile, wrapping his arms around her small frame for heat, and well, because he wanted to.

"In case I forget later." she began. "Thank you for tonight." And she pressed a quick kiss to his lips, nothing to cross his limit line, yet.

"You, are most welcome." He pulled her closer to his warmth.

"Sir." The valet was faster than expected, handing Oliver back his keys. "She handles like a dream." Oliver chuckled, the valets always seemed to like him. He swapped the tip for his keys, thankful the beauty hadn't been scratched like a previous restaurant he'd been at once, and never again.  
>"Let's get you home." Oliver whispered to Chloe, escorting her to her door before skirting around the front and sliding in.<p>

"I have to say Queen, you're not as I expected." she complimented.

"Back at you. Lex has no idea just how special you are. Though I can definitely understand him not wanting to let you go." His eyes met hers. "Brains _and_ beauty."

Chloe smiled the first three minutes of the drive, and then started following roads curiously. This was the exact route he'd taken here.

"Are we going back to mine?"

"You are." he answered.

"You promised!" she hissed, her anger flashing in those expressive eyes.

"What exactly did I promise?"

"You promised that tonigh-"

"No, actually, I didn't specify a time frame. And, if you'd like to note, I didn't actually specify where I'd be kissing you." And she realised he hadn't… how could she have overlooked that? But she knew how, she was too wrapped up in him. It was becoming harder to see him as business.

She needed results, she needed to get something for Lex. She needed to be in his apartment, tonight.

Her eyes flickered sharp and dangerous over to Queen. He had a smug grin on his face as he followed the next turn closer to her address.

How had this happened? Men loved it when she threw herself at them, they loved that she was as up for it on the first night as they were. But here was Queen, sitting in his precious car, fully prepared to drop her off alone and drive onwards. He did like her, right?

Of course he did…

Right?

Had she lost her gift? What was wrong with the man?

Maybe he didn't fully understand what she meant…

As much as she was building to punch him or pull the handbrake on his precious car and ruin the overly expensive motor, she knew it wouldn't be the answer she needed.

"An oversight on my part." she breathed. Oliver turned back to her, curious as to where the anger he had seen had gone to. Only all he saw was her flirtatious eyes and sickly sweet grin. He felt his body warm to her again, but surely she wouldn't do anything now.

Or at least that was what he thought until her hand slipped onto his thigh.

Chloe heard the gas storm the engine and the car speed up along the quiet street. She smiled, knowing she was going along the right lines. The right lines further up his thigh. At some point little Oliver would take over brain control and this whole stupid notion of being a 'gentleman' would vanish. He'd hit the gas and speed her back to his place for the good fuck they both needed.

Her hand smoothed across the clothing and centimetres from her hidden target a hand came over hers, holding it where it was.

She looked up to eyes that showed struggle and restraint.

"Don't start something." he warned her, his voice darker, deeper… lust filled.

"I promise I can finish." she teased, her hand curling under his, her nails lightly scratching the clothing and drugging him all over again.

"You're going home tonight." he spoke again, refusing to take his hand away from where he kept hers, knowing she'd only continue her task.

"You can come with me." Sure, it wasn't ideal for reconnaissance, but she'd at least scratch an itch and build some solid framework to use for scaling the iron man that was Queen.

"You're going alone." he corrected. Chloe tried to ignore the ache that pulled at her heart, telling her to run from the situation while she still had dignity. She kept her hand where it was, refusing to snatch it back like she wanted.

"Does that mean I have to play with myself, all alone, all night?" Oliver would have choked if he was drinking anything. Damn woman was playing on his every nerve. Chloe smiled, finding her prize in his reaction and she stretched out her fingers again, taking advantage of the loosened hand and ghosting over the bulge in his slacks. His hand came over hers again, stilling her motions, but holding her to him in the same motion. She grinned as he realised his actions consequence.

At least now she knew for sure that he found her attractive. It was this damn notion of romance that was ruining her plan. And the damn man who insisted upon it.

The car came to a harsh stop, and she finally realised she was indeed outside Gold Tower. A wash of rejection came all over again. Here she was, hand on his damn erection and all he could say was; "Goodnight Chloe." In that sweet lull and pass her back her hand.

Anger flared, but couldn't push it down any further tonight. Everyone had a limit. He was sending her away when he was clearly wanting… did he just not want _her_? An unfamiliar ache rattled cold and alone in her chest. She felt sick, she felt empty, she felt like there was a freezing cold shadow looming over her, making her suffer.

How could he be so… insensitive?!

Fucking _**men**_!

She pushed herself out of the car, resisting the urge to scratch the paintwork. It wasn't the car's fault its driver was a bastard. "So I'll call you about the second date."

"You can fucking _try_." she challenged, the fury twinkling a burning edge to her eyes.

Chloe stormed across the pavement without so much as a goodbye, she told the desk to hold her calls and stop all visitors, then marched her heels across the marble floors to the elevator like the pounding on the drums of hell. Only when she was behind the solid wood of her door did she let out the curses she had wanted to call Queen. She tugged off the heels and threw them in the general direction of the bedroom, she flung the wrap towards the sofa and untied the halterneck as she walked further into the bedroom. In nothing but her best underwear, she slipped herself beneath the bedcovers and tried to kill her anger and find some sleep. It didn't come easily.

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><p>"So Lex's facility was alive and torturing for another hour tonight because…?" Not exactly the greeting he wanted, but his mood couldn't be killed by his team tonight. Not after holding his goddess so close.<p>

"It was important and we don't know if this is even used by Lex." He answered AC as the group turned to him.

"What was important?"

"I'm here now." Oliver answered dismissingly, opening the fake clock face and stepping inside for his arrows. "Vic." he called as he stepped from the previous room. His friend stepped into view quickly, watching him collect arrows. "I need a favour."

"Of course." Victor stepped further inside, from the ears of the others, if Oliver wanted this to be public he wouldn't bother calling him from the room.

"How good aim do you have with that eye?" Victor crossed his arms over his chest hearing this, his eyes narrowing.

"What are you planning?"

"How good?" Oliver repeated, thinking of the night with Chloe. He'd already crossed his own lines. Kissing her was a mistake from the very start, but how could he resist. It wasn't long before she'd starting putting piece to piece.

"Pretty accurate. But we aren't discussing anymore until I hear some more information." Oliver looked to the man. As much as he hated to involve others, Victor was reliable, he was strong enough, he knew what was required.

"It won't be long before Chloe starts to put things together." Especially since he could no longer keep from touching her, kissing her. Did she know tonight it was him? Was she already driving to Lex and spilling his secret?

No, she would have been more shocked. But pet names were slipping, he couldn't hold his identity securely, but he couldn't stop from seeing her and he definitely couldn't stop kissing her. It wouldn't be long at all before she matched his lips to Arrow's. So… counter-offensive techniques needed to be used.

"What exactly are you asking me to do?" Victor seemed appalled and he hadn't even asked for the favour yet. Maybe he wouldn't be as accepting as he needed, maybe this was too big a favour.

"I need you to become Arrow for a night… and shoot me."

"Hell no! I'm not shooting you." He stepped back in outrage.

"I will!" Dinah's sparkling voice came to the clock frame with her grin following.

"You don't have to sound so happy." Oliver grumbled. "Besides, you hardly have the figure to pull off a convincing Arrow."

"And I hardly have the skin tone!" Victor shot back.

"You're the right height and build, you can use your eye to avoid any serious injury, it will be dark she won't even be able to see past flesh sleeves or make-up."

"Regardless, I'm not shooting you." Victor stood firmly on that point.

"I need you to." And the words shook his foundation.

"If the wind changes I could kill you."

"You won't." Oliver swore and Victor would hear a deep trust in the words. But… to shoot him? That was too much.

"Alright smartie pants." Dinah interrupted again. "Say machine man does shoot you. What are you going to do?" she challenged. "If you heal it, little Luthor is going to have questions, if you don't, then she's going to wonder why Arrow has the same wound the next time you see her!"

"She won't even se-"

"I have an idea." Victor spoke, quieting the two before another argument ensued. "It will work, _without_ shooting you."

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><p>Lex's anger was not exactly what Chloe had wanted to wake up to. But apparently her own wants didn't even factor into the equation of life.<p>

"You're not in metropolis to play games Chloe, I need results."

"I still don't see why dating the man is a good idea. He infuriates me." she huffed down the phone to Lex, pacing across the bedroom. "I can make his life a living hell _without_ being near him."

"You and I both know there's nothing more powerful than a woman at the side of a man. Without a woman, Samson wouldn't have lost his strength, he wouldn't have been captured or eventually killed."

"Let me guess, Queen's business is the Samson in this example?"

"All you need to do is keep him busy and find out his secrets." Lex spoke. Chloe forced her feet to stand still, catching sight of her pacing in the mirror. "An easy task for a woman of any skill." he continued.

"Yeah yeah, I get the idea." she condoned. "Doesn't mean I like it. There's something wrong with any man that says no to me on a first date." she muttered, staring at her reflection. He liked her, well she _thought_ he did, so why hadn't anything happened?

"I'm going to need something more from this second date Chloe."

"I'm working on it." she answered regretfully and stared at the dead phone.

4 missed calls from Queen.

She ignored them and dressed for her day, aiming to cover the martial arts centres today. But as soon as she set foot into the lobby she paused, the front desk was covered with delivery men carrying chocolates and roses.

She couldn't help but laugh aloud, her hand slapping across her mouth to cover the noise, some love drunk chic was going to be screaming her head off at this, all at the expense of some dumb sap she had the misfortune of dating. But as she got closer to the doors, she was almost ran over by the number of deliver trucks and the latest stepping outside of it holding a white teddy-bear holding a heart.

Oh god. She hoped to god this wasn't Oliver. A blush flooded her cheeks.

She hoped to god she wasn't the aforementioned dumb female in receipt of these.

"Miss Maine! Miss Maine!" And oh shit, she was. She could feel it in the bottom of her stomach. Along with something else, some sick feeling that didn't belong. Her head felt dizzy as the desk man came across the hall to her. "Thank God. I understand you said you didn't wish for any deliveries or disturbances, but they say they've been instructed to wait until you personally sign for them." He waved his hand over the men. Her blush hit all over again.

"All of them?" Her voice felt heavy in her throat.

"All of them." he confirmed with a nod.

"Okay. Okay. I need paper and a pen." She followed the male back to the desk, taking the paper he handed.

_I, Chloe Maine, give permission for _

Chloe paused her writing. "What's your name?"

"David Burkowski."

"I'm going to need a spelling of that last name." she apologised. He smiled and she wrote him onto the paper.

_David Burkowski to sign for all my packages on my behalf. His signature counts as mine for all deliveries to Gold Tower, Penthouse Suite._

She finished with a flowing signature. And handed the paper back to him. "Show this to them. If they don't accept it, make them leave." He nodded. "And, would you be amazing and put these all in my room for me?" He smiled.

"Of course Miss, anything to help." Chloe smiled, avoiding the crisis easily and slipping out the front door while David took control of the deliveries. Fucking Queen!

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Enraged and flowing with sexual tension. Some would say I'm abusing my power as an author and torturing the poor girl...<p>

I disagree, haha.

Hope the date was everything you wanted ;)


	19. Tension

First, sorry Guest, it's not this chapter. And by the looks of this, it's going to be a long story (though not as long as my previous Bandit Stole My Heart)... so... you've got a while before she connects the dots.

I see people are enjoying the sexual tension, always good :) There's more heading your way ;)

I'm loving the reviews, hope you enjoy this chapter as my gift back to you :D

**Previously; **There was a date, there was dancing, there was even ice-cream. There was sexual tension overflowing! But Chloe didn't go home feeling satisfied.  
>Victor's got a plan, Lex is playing pimp and Chloe's got flowers, chocolates and teddybears from Oliver.<p>

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><p><span>Chapter Nineteen; Tension<span>

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><p>'<em>Having the upper hand is not about size, it's about decisiveness and speed'<em> – Lex Luthor (Season Two, Episode Precipice)

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><p>Chloe sat outside a café a few hours later, her list of narrowed down martial arts on the table next to her half drained coffee, a folded newspaper rested in her one hand, the pen lodged between her fingers of the other as she furthered with the Sudoku she was working on for a break.<p>

"Well, fancy seeing you here." Chloe didn't even look up or pause her progress, knowing the voice to be Queen.

"Not really, you've had a car following me for the last half hour."

"You weren't answering my calls." he stated, sitting himself down. Chloe's finger sped over the lines of the Sudoku followed the trail of the 2 vertically and horizontally to write in another number. "Com'on, at least talk to me" he pleaded "Or yell?" he offered with a grin.

"Generally…" She paused to run her finger down the 8's and fill in another 8. "When someone doesn't answer your calls, they don't intend to talk to you." She finally looked up at him. "Not even to yell." She decided to ignore the overkill in gifts she'd received.

"You hardly come under the heading of generally." She met his eyes.

"I would take that as a compliment, but somehow I think you're trying to say I'm challenging for you."

"I always have enjoyed a challenge"

"Hmmm." And she took her eyes back down to the puzzle. The end of the pen resting between her lips as she thought, her eyes moving across the paper.

"Come with me this Thursday." Chloe didn't bother to pass her mind three days ahead, she just lowered her paper.

"Not that I care, but what marvellous event is occurring this Thursday?"

"The Isis foundation is hosting a charity ball. Costume."

Chloe laughed, pulling back up her paper. She should have known, after all she'd declined Lex's invitation for him. It was Lana Lang's pet project for saving the meteor infected from isolation and discrimination. Overall, Chloe could applaud the idea. At first, she was a tad confused by Lex's decline of the invite, considering Lana was the founder. Then, she finally twigged. Miss Lang would be out of the country trying to spread her message. Lex was playing it well in all honesty, he'd made up an excuse to pardon him from a public outing and arranged to discuss the future of Isis alone sometime. He'd pretty much escaped a public event and gained a date. Win-win.

Still… social events weren't really Chloe's thing either.

"As thrilling as the idea is, I think I'll pass."

"Dancing, socialising, great company, ev-"

"I thought you were trying to get me to agree, not try to get me to leave." Oliver chuckled.

"If would be a perfect place… if you wish to exact your revenge for last night." And Chloe closed the paper, sliding the unfinished puzzle into her bag, suddenly more active in the conversation.

"What's the theme?" she asked

"Characters throughout history."

"And what were you thinking of going as?" she enquired, leaning across the table.

"Hadn't decided."

"So, I could choose?"

"You could choose a _genre_ but I would like to be wearing something more than a loincloth." She joined his laughter.

"So, you could be… a viking, or… an egyptian. Or." She cast her eyes up and down. "Maybe caveman would suit you more."

Oliver grinned as she ticked off ideas on her fingers, if there was one thing he knew Chloe would jump at the chance of, it was control over him. He'd give her a little and she'd be his from that moment on.

"All plausible options." he agreed.

"I presume whatever I choose for you, you'll insist I pair with you."

"That would be the deal." he confirmed

She considered her options, then found her gaze drifting to her now empty coffee cup.

"I think better when I have coffee you know." Queen took the hint happily and stood, walking into the café and ordering her a creamy latte.

Chloe smiled to herself, of course she was going to say yes, but it didn't mean she wasn't going to get her full deal from it.

Oliver returned swiftly and the first sip of her coffee loosened her lips.

"Three conditions."

Oliver leant back in the chair, waving his hand to let her reel them off. "One; I get to buy the costumes. Two; you bring the sexy car again and let me drive her. Three; I get something more than a kiss at the end of the night. Guaranteed."

"High price." he commented. "How about this; you can approve the costume, but I will ultimately buy them. I will let you drive the way _there_, but not back. You get a kiss goodnight, guaranteed."

"That's going to be a deal breaker. I'll need you to bring up your offer by quite a bit."

"Feel free to counter offer and meet me halfway." he proposed, a smile on his face.

"I get to pick the costumes you buy, I get to drive there and if you approve of my driving, you let me drive back. And, I'm afraid I cannot budge on the last one, I'll need something more than a kiss."

Oliver crossed his arms over his chest.

"Alright. Well, the only way I'll agree to the last condition is if we remove the first two and add that I am guaranteed a third date, no fight."

Chloe could tell he was enjoying this, perhaps this was the part of business he thrived in, the part of his work where he found his element.

Chloe narrowed her eyes, surely he wouldn't just walk away from this… then again, he did have this whole romantic notion and he did have an agreement for a second date, which didn't have to be this event at all. Besides, seeing Oliver in any fancy dress seemed alluring to her. Fancy dress shops weren't known for the more moderate of people, at least not in this day and age.

"You can have full control over costumes, I drive both ways, no fight for the third date, and I get a guaranteed something more than a kiss before midnight on Thursday."

"You choose the genre, I do the rest. You drive one way. No fight for third and guaranteed by midnight on Thursday." he countered, making the slightest of changes to an acceptable deal. Chloe smiled.

"Then we have a deal." She extended her hand, but withdrew an inch before his clasped it. "Before we seal this, I just need _clarification_ which I sadly failed to get last time." Oliver chuckled. "By the end of tonight, I will suggest a genre of dress and you will deal with purchasing and sizing and then deliver it to me." Oliver nodded. "You will bring your sexy black Lamborghini and you will let me drive to the event, you may drive back." she allowed with a smile. "There will be a third date and I won't put up a fight, no matter what you do on said second date." Though she agreed this with clenched teeth. "And by the stroke of midnight this coming Thursday, you will have provided me with sexual entertainment greater than the value of any type of kiss."

She extended her hand again.

"I agree to that." And he sealed his hand over hers, agreeing with a simple up and down motion. However, Chloe kept a grip on his hand, and met his eyes.

"If, for some reason, you fail to hold up your end of this, there will be undesirable consequences and the agreement becomes void."

He just grinned and accepted his hand back as she released him.

"So, now that that's sorted, perhaps you can tell me your need for checking out the city's martial arts centres." He tapped a finger to her list as she looked confused at him. She'd forgotten she'd left that out. Oh well.

"Every girl needs to know how to fight; strange men may drag her off onto balconies and persuade her into dating them."

"Happens a lot huh?"

"More than you think. But I've decided to take action." she spoke firmly, a smile on her lips.

"There's always pepper spray and a Taser."

"Ah, but they don't always fit in the tiny bags females are forced by society to carry at social functions."

"I can see how that may present a problem."

"Hence the search." she concluded, her quick thinking saving her from a long explanation.

"I can suggest some of these off the list if you like." He took the list anyway, turning it to face him. He noted the top few names to be crossed out. That explained her movements this morning.

"You fight?" How had she missed this in her background research?

"You didn't read the headlines last year?" he questioned, seeming surprised.

"I was out of the country." she answered, curious as to what she had missed.

"It's not my proudest moment, but at the bottom of a downward spiral I ended up playing fighter for a gambling ring." That explained it, she read of the drunken spiral, but didn't bother to look any deeper. She half-heartedly wondered just how good he was.

He chuckled, but found her to be slightly impressed if there was any readable emotion on her face. This woman was a mystery.

"Well, I think the important question is; did you win?" He chuckled.

"The majority of the time."

"Then I'll happily take your advice."

He smiled and roamed the list again, but his attention didn't last long.

"You know, I'd be happy to teach you. If you wanted." She rose an eyebrow.

"You would be willing to teach me martial arts?" she repeated, just to check she'd heard him right.

"Sure."

"You are aware that would include our bodies being closer than they are now, in less clothing." She raised her drink to her lips, then paused. "Possibly in less innocent of positions." And with that she drank, a warmth that wasn't just the coffee washing over her.

He grinned widely.

"It had crossed my mind, yes. But we're both adults, and I'd rather it be me than a stranger at-" he took the first unscratched name from the list "S.W.A.T taewondo training academy."

"I don't know, their site looked really good, and some of the ladies instructors looked pretty damn fine." she laughed over her drink.

"Ah, but will they condone your caffeine addiction?" he challenged.

"Okay, fair point, any chance these 'lessons' can be considered dates?"

"Not a chance in hell, I will get my three fair and square Chloe."

"Guess I was hoping for a bit too much there." she admitted with a laugh. "Okay Queen, I'm game. When do you think you'd have time to take me on?" Everything was planning out in her head, revenge for last night. She'd play dumb for a few minutes, then knock him on his ass.

"Tomorrow at 2pm then? I'll come pick you up."

"With pleasure." she smiled, watching him rise.

"You should know, I expect 100% effort, and I will be hard on you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." she grinned, fingering the ace up her sleeve, even sweeter the victory.

"At least then you'll have a day to recover in time for our date on Thursday." he added, and then as his eyes followed his car that pulled up alongside them, he leant closer to her. "Just so you know." he started. "Our deal… I would have gone higher." And he smirked something so sexual, yet aggravating before slipping into the car and disappearing. Yet again, the man had left her infuriated.

Chloe spent the rest of her day with a fake press badge claiming to be writing an article on women's safety and martial arts. She was interviewing instructors of all her listed gyms. Her cell had synced with their networks wirelessly while talking and downloaded all client information. There were far too many centres to visit all in one day and the list had to be split into three sections. The first, she aimed to complete today, and then tonight she'd search through their database of members.

And two hours later there she stood, outside the last centre on her current list leaving with files to search through and several phone numbers of instructors that thought she could meet them for a drink, to get 'extra information'. She binned them as soon as she received them, not matching any instructor's body type to Arrows.

Feeling a good vibe about her many client lists, inclusive of photo's (the price of a membership in the higher class centres. For others, she'd just hack DMV records for a photo) she stopped her tracks home outside a department store. Celebratory shopping was needed, plus, she should probably buy something sort and cropped for her tumble with Queen tomorrow. She grinned at the thought. He would be paying. Severely.

* * *

><p>Chloe had forgotten all about her event in the lobby this morning, all until she opened her door, hands full of shopping bags and couldn't see anything that wasn't a rose, a chocolate or a teddybear.<p>

Oh, Queen would be taking a blow tomorrow. She'd pay him back, a bruise for each chocolate and petal. She dumped the shopping bags and kicked the door closed.

"Queen seems smitten." Chloe jumped, unaware of the company, but found Arrow lounging on her sofa.

"Jesus Christ!" Fuck, the cameras.

"They're already off." he started, knowing her worry. He shifted to a sitting position. "So, what's the deal with Queen?"

"Business." she replied, knocking the bear off the table to set down one of the bags.

"Business huh? This seems a lot more."

"Lex wants his company, that's all." she explained, carelessly. More bothered by the flowers that crowded her coffee maker.

"And dating you gets him that how?"

"There's this company coming on the market soon, it's bogged with lawsuits, If Queen doesn't have the time to dig that extra bit further, he'll buy it, and ruin Queen Industries. Lex will swoop in and buy it while it's plummeted." she continued, seeing no problem in telling the vigilante her other mission.

"And you come in how?" She turned to Arrow with a smile.

"Keeping him busy." she simply spoke, light and cheerful.

"So the sex is just an added perk?"

"Now _that_ is none of your business." She turned away from him, back to the flowers, hunting her coffee again.

"I don't approve." Chloe shot a simple look over her shoulder, one that said 'deal with it'. "When do _we_ finish _our_ business?" he enquired, walking from the sofa into the kitchen.

"Well, not right now." she replied. Arrow busied himself with the paper hanging loose from her bag.

"Looking for a new trainer?"

"You wish." she snorted. "Looking for a connection actually."

"Of course, your _connection_ could train at home."

Her eyes met him challengingly.

"If you dare tell me today has been a waste of time I'm going to gut you where you stand."

Arrow chuckled. "Okay, fine. Yes, perhaps my 'connection' trains at home. But there are certain things that despite the amount of money you cannot do at home. And that is where I'll have him trapped."

"You won't find anything." He stepped around the roses and closer to her. Chloe turned, her back to the counter. She found him deliciously close, he smelled like the night air, despite it being still light out.

"You on the clock?"

"Sadly, a team mate fell through."

"Injury?"

"Girlfriend." he answered with a smirk.

"So when's your next free night?" she asked, a whisper from him. "Just in case I feel lonely."

"Thursday." he spoke.

"After that?"

"You have plans?" He played dumb, the other persona of the anti-Queen in full swing.

"Queen." she explained with a single word.

"I'll drop by at the weekend then." he answered.

"I'm sure I'll be very lonely by then." she purred.

"Queen not giving it to you good enough?" he teased.

"Queen won't give me anything as good as you do." And he swept down to her lips, pulling her into his frame with a rushed intensity. _This_ was the kind of kiss she craved. None of this airey fairy romance and fairytale ending. This was lust, packed tight in a male body. Arrow _wanted_ her like a man should.

"Later Goldilocks." he breathed and she watched him turn and leave the way he came. Chloe followed at a much slower pace, standing in the breeze of the balcony. She watched the green figure grow smaller over the rooftops, until he dropped from one, leaving her sight. The buildings in Metropolis were so tightly packed, her penthouse view being more of rooftops at her waist level than anything to pay for. But the roofs were the perfect access for Arrow. His own stepping stones up to her window.

She smiled and shut the balcony doors, locking herself inside with her work. Even despite his hint, she still had to check the clients, she still had to go back to the other places on the list. But her buzz was gone, her thrill of success extinguished. She knew she'd find nothing, but she still looked, and by nightfall she had her conclusion: nothing.

Despite the other places to check she was sure he trained at home, add to that the private friend or contact making his costumes, archery had become her one last link, he must use one of the local sights to train. Metropolis only had two. One, low rent and worth a hack tomorrow. The other, she'd visit soon, scope out the archers for their skill and looks.

On another refill trip she was reminded of the mess called gifts in her kitchen. And the promise to find him an era for costumes. She opened her laptop in the living room trying to sort the gifts at the same time as researching costumes. As some period costume retailers loaded couple's purchases, she started placing the roses away from the coffee and into their own space around the apartment. As she took the giant teddybear to sit in the corner of the bedroom, she found a piece of paper wedged between its paw and heart. Chloe lifted the note and smiled at the distinctly male handwriting.

_Princess Chloe,_

_I apologise for last night, however, you __**will**__ be romanced.  
>Find it in your heart to forgive and let me in?<em>

_Yours,  
>Prince Charming.<em>

Chloe laughed, taking the note back to her phone, and that was when she caught sight of the computer with an image she could love. There were costumes of all sorts, but even in the many revolving images, one held certain promise. It was dignified for the female, but less modest on the male. It was elegant for the woman, primal for the man. There was no way he wasn't showing some skin by the end of the night, or hell, even at the start.

She hit dial on Queen's number.

"Chloe," he answered quickly, with a smile. "Made up your mind?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I must have dialled the wrong number, I was looking for Prince Charming." she joked.

"So you _did_ get those."

"Considering the kind delivery people wouldn't leave without my personal signature I'd hope I did." She grinned.

"Good. Now, tell me you didn't like it." he teased.

"I have the perfect solution for our costume drama." she spoke instead.

"Oh, do tell." he played along with her.

And no later than a minute, she smiled to the mobile feeling very happy with his agreement. Reluctant, but an agreement none-the-less.

* * *

><p>Chloe spent the majority of her morning crossing off another third of the list of Martial arts places. But in all honesty, her heart wasn't in it. Her heart was buzzing for seeing Oliver later and dishing him up some payback. Her head wasn't exactly on the task either, she knew she wouldn't get any results from it, but she still had to go through the motion. She sighed as she left another place and climbed into the back of the guard-driven car. Her heart was on Oliver, her brain was on Arrow and … her job was entirely Lex.<p>

Would have been nice to have someone female in her life, she kind of missed those times. But then again, she didn't really get along with females that well. They never measured up to Lois, they never made her even half as happy as her cousin used to. Chloe turned to look out of the window. Since when had her life become dominated by men? Not that she was too bothered; she understood men, she knew how to work them. Well, at least she thought she did. Queen was proving to be a mystery.

But she had- she fished out her phone from her pocket and checked the time- an hour to finish up this last place and get home and changed, ready to make Queen's life less pleasant.

* * *

><p>An hour later Oliver was stood outside his car, leaning with coffee in both hands. Chloe smiled as she spotted him.<p>

"Tell me that's for me." she teased, stepping from the glass doors of the tower block.

"I figured it would get me in your good graces." he replied, handing over the classic vendor heat saving Styrofoam cups. She breathed in the scent before taking it to her lips.

"It's a start." She smiled sliding into the backseat of the silver BMW as he opened the door for her. Chloe happily greeted the bored driver that had the task of chauffer today. He politely answered back but said no more. Oliver sat himself on the other side of the backseat, keeping a distance.

That wouldn't last long, Chloe thought and unbuttoned her coat, embracing the warmth of the car and Oliver's inspecting gaze.

"That's what you're wearing?" he questioned with raised eyebrows.

"I get too hot otherwise." she simply answered, explaining the short shorts and strappy top that barely covered the top line of the balconette bra. With what little she had up top, there was no need for a sports bra, so she'd decided on getting support from her bra in other ways; push-up and cleavage enhancing ways. And she was more than happy with the result, her breasts looked firm and full, begging for his touch.

Chloe watched something pass over his features, her eyes following his motion to tap the chauffer's shoulder twice.

"Change of plans. Back home." he addressed the driver.

"Change of plans?" Chloe enquired with a smirk. "You finally give in on this crazy romance idea?"

"No. Just not taking you to my gym dressed like that."

"Any particular reason?" she innocently asked.

"Because I don't like the idea of other men imagining what I am." he shot at her, slightly angry it seemed.

"And what is it you're imagining?" she purred, shuffling closer to him. "I bet I can make it come true."

"I have no doubt. But I won't let you." he swore. "Yet."

"And when will you?"

"Fourth date." he answered, cautious about her hand placement. He didn't think he could turn her away a second time. "When you regain your ability to walk." His smirk wasn't lost.

She grinned back at him.

"And what makes you so sure you'll get a fourth date?"

"Because I can give you what you need."

Chloe chose not to address that.

"So, if we're not going back to yours for the thrill of my life-" Oliver's smirk seemed to grow more wise-ass-ish. "-then what are we doing?"

"Exploring second base probably." he admitted truthfully but not quietly enough to escape her hearing. Her smile turned into the seductress' weapon she'd pulled on him only a few days before. He felt that sinking feeling again, he was in trouble. "I have a small area I use for private training, which I think would suit you better." he followed with.

Chloe had a new plan forming. His place, his notes, his office. It was all laid out before her, sooner than she could imagine. And then dread hit her. Sooner than she could plan for; no camera, no flashdrive, no little black box to crack passwords. All she had was her phone, which although could take photos, it wasn't what Lex would want. All she could do was rely on memory today.

Another time, another time, she would come prepared. But for now, she'd have to play nice and innocent.

She smiled to Queen, watching his form tense in his seat. She liked to think that in one way or another he knew he wouldn't be enjoying today as much as he thought this morning.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter; <strong>Rough and tumble with Queen and Victor's 'plan' is set into motion.

In other news; I started, and finished watching Emily Owens MD. Yes, just for Justin Hartley... The things I would do for that man... *sigh*

Such a beautiful man... Shame about the whole marriage and kids thing... and the whole age difference... Okay, so maybe i'll just stick to his beautiful fictional forms of life.

Hmmmmm, Oliver Queen. My imagination just adores playing with him.


	20. Denial and War

Yes, sadly ladies/gents, Justin Hartley is married, with a child (in real life). As for the age thing, I have a rough rule that if you're less than half his age, then it's wrong. I did have to look up his age, but, I am pleased to say I am within my own parameters for the man (yummy). Mr Hartley is 36 this year (Born 1977). If only he wasn't married...

Wait... woah... Wikipedia tells me they've filed for divorce... I can't help but wonder why?!

Okay, so yes, I know the odds of an english girl suddenly enveloping in a whirlwind romance with this hottie american are very low (especially since she hates leaving the country- who trusts airplanes?! Humans were not meant to fly!)... but a girl can dream! And that can NEVER be taken away.

Besides... in all honesty, I think I'd rather have the fictional Oliver Queen... the Green Arrow side of him does something for me which I can't explain.

It does something for Chloe too ;)

I'm glad to see you're really getting your teeth into this, but I fear this chapter will be upsetting at least one reviewer (oh dear Guest, I do apologise, but Chloe's got a long road before she finds out who he really is. Don't worry, she'll start finding a few problems with his story though).

**Previously; **Oliver stalked dear Chloe to win a date in three days time, until then, they agreed to play fighting together. Chloe told Arrow her plans for Queen's business and why she was dating him :(  
>I left off where dear Chloe was torturing Oliver with her chosen clothing and he'd turned the car around to take her home.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty; Denial and War<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Love is rarely, if ever, logical'<em> - Chloe Sullivan (Season Two, Episode Heat)

* * *

><p>The car took a 10 minute trip, Chloe already knew where she'd end up from her snooping online of his finance records. As predicted, she stepped out of the car in front of Oliver's apartment.<p>

Oliver was quick to take her hand while she scouted the area.

Quick to bustle her into an old clunky elevator she swore was going to kill her.

Quick to jab the button, grinning the entire ride at her worry.

But then everything slowed. As she stepped from the elevator his arms wrapped around her, slipping inside the coat to rest on bare skin. He pulled her flush to him, his lips crashing to hers with a passion that surprised her. Time seemed to stroll past, everything hanging in this moment with them, he was everything she could think of.

His lips weren't harsh, weren't demanding of her, just that kind of flowing serenity she'd never found appealing before. But now, every end in her body was sparking. There was this image in her head of never letting him go, of being wrapped up in his arms under a blanket, of watching waves slam onto the beach as they strolled along hand in hand. And she wanted it; she wanted to do those things with him. It broke all of her rules, destroyed everything she thought she knew about herself.

His tongue danced across hers and she forgot all reason to be mad with him. In that moment there was no deal with Lionel, no deal with Lex, no agreement for Queen's business. No… no Green Arrow. She couldn't even think of Arrow's last kiss with her. All she knew was that Arrow was quick, he was needy, he was lustful. Nothing like this kiss; Oliver… he kissed like he loved.

It scared her to death.

And god damn it, she knew why she had avoided feeling this with other men, she knew why the rules were in place and she knew exactly what had happened.

Oliver pulled away, returning his hands into his own bodily space. She lifted her eyes only the slightest, catching the smile on his face while her unruly stray strands of hair covered her own features.

"I've been wanting to do that since I saw you." he admitted, lifting her hand into his and taking her further into his living space. Chloe couldn't even lift her eyes to locate his files or exits.

She knew this feeling he'd stirred and she wanted nothing to do with it. A simple kiss had shut off every logical thought in her brain, knocked her off her feet and placed her completely in unknown territory. She wanted this feeling gone.

Besides, it was just chemicals in her body, nothing but stupid chemicals he'd stirred. Because she knew for sure, she could **not** fall in love with Oliver, it wasn't possible. Wasn't plausible. It was wrong. She'd probably just got head over heels with lust and some had over-spilled into a dusty bucket labelled love.

Either way, something had stirred in Chloe. She finally looked up with anger in her eyes. She stared at Oliver's back as he led her further through his home. It was _his_ fault.

When she was in control, she never felt this.

When _she_ was in control, this didn't happen.

He'd taken control the second he'd declined her. She couldn't take it back until he'd take her to bed. But she could a) speed up the process to the bedroom, and b) make him pay.

With a smile gracing her pink lips, she set foot inside his work out space, or whatever he'd named this padded floor area and slipped off her kitten heels. Her eyes inspected the place while she shrugged off the coat and threw it over her shoes.

It was average size. Smaller than Lex's arena, but then again, this apartment was nothing on the mansion. It wasn't too small that she couldn't work with it. She could easily throw him across the room twice without having to change direction.

With approval, she turned to face Queen.

…who was stripping off his shirt for the wall.

Chloe watched the muscles dance across his back as he moved to take it off. She couldn't help but stare.

God, she wished he was wearing another shirt just to watch the entire procedure again, there was something so erotic about watching a man lose clothes, and all she could think was when this action would eventually happen before he finally got around to fucking her.

Oliver flashed a look over his shoulder, catching her locked gaze.

"Rude to stare." he pointed out, clearly happy with her decision.

"It's also rude to kidnap a woman and force her to date you." she snapped back, but kept her smile to her lips.

"Well it's a good job we're not concerned about being rude." he answered with a chuckle.

Chloe watched him walk barefoot into the centre of the mats and wave her forward.

"Should you be wearing jeans?" she asked, but walked to meet him.

"We won't be doing anything too complex today." he scoffed. Oh and how much she was looking forward to wiping that grin off his face. But, for now, she would follow his wishes. "It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you. You can come closer." he teased with a grin.

Chloe reminded herself to at least give him a few moments before she slammed him to the floor.

Minutes, she spoke to herself. Mere _minutes_ for him to talk down to her. Then, well, then things would change. "Am I going to have to teach you to make a fist too?" he chuckled, clearly enjoying himself.

Seconds, she corrected herself. Mere _**seconds **_before she decked the bastard.

"No. I-" She was going to say she had a cousin in the army. But Chloe Maine didn't, that was Chloe Sullivan. "-know that much." she finished.

"Alright. We'll take it slow shall we?"

"What happened to being hard on me? 100% effort?" she asked, but put up her fists ready to '_learn_'.

"Alright, I was going to start off slow, but we can hit this hard if you like."

"Oh I would." Oliver couldn't help but hear sex lacing her voice. He sighed.

"Alright. I'm going to grab you." he warned. "Protect yourself."

He took a step to close the distance, his arms coming out to ensnare her. She threw out her punch straight to his chest. Her smile didn't have a chance to form, neither did her follow up as he caught her fist and pulled her into a grab anyway, somehow predicting her move.

How?

"So, you already know how to fight?" He didn't seem to ask a question, more confirm an earlier thought.

How? "Why did you agree to this, if you already knew?"

Chloe did grin now, her back pressed to his bare chested front, and oh Lord it felt fantastic to be there.

"Maybe I just wanted to beat you up, or rub up against you?" she teased, and snaked one hand up his shoulder, the other to rest atop his hand over her stomach.

"And the other martial arts centres you were looking into?"

Chloe smiled and with no more than a jab to his stomach and twist of her hips she spun him over and onto the floor, her hands following to put him in an arm lock and prevent any further movement.

"Stress relief." she answered to his pained form as he groaned.

"So you know ju jitsu." he summed from the arm lock she still held on him.

"Amongst others." she admitted.

Oliver broke free, countering the armlock, and rolling to pin her below him on the mats.

"Well, at least the playing field is fair." he breathed.

"Far from." she countered, locking her legs around him, and grinding her hips against his groin.

"Ah." He stopped her, freeing one of her hands to still her hips and push them to the floor. "Enough of that."

"Oh com'on, you said you wouldn't on _dates_ before the third. Technically, this isn't a date. So… this is the loop hole in your agreement." She trailed her free hand down his chest and to the top of the jeans, running her finger along the top band. "Give me what I need now, and you can have your second and third date however you want. I'll even play along and be a good girl."

His hand left her hips again, this time taking her hand back to the mat.

"You couldn't be a good girl if you tried." he chuckled. "Besides, once would not be enough for you."

"That skilled huh?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"I would." she answered truthfully, kicking both her free legs to his left side and flipping him over with a push of her hips. She straddled his groin, her hands manacles over his wrists.

He smiled.

"I do like my women on top." he breathed. "But, I prefer having control." Like she weighed nothing at all, he escaped her hands and took hold on her waist instead, lifting her from her position and tumbling on top of her again.

As he lay between her legs -his hands beside her head keeping most of his weight off her- all she could think of was sex.

She rose the distance and crashed her lips to his, curling her hands into his back and tugging him down to his forearms for support.

Her legs locked behind him, her lips moulded to his, her hand clawing at his back. There may be nail marks later, but for now, neither cared.

He returned her kiss with a fire she hadn't known before. No, not true. This was the fire she'd felt in the seconds after leaving his half dead elevator. This was the spell of chemicals swirling in her blood. But there was another pull tugging at the back of her brain that shocked her more. She'd been kissed like this before.

Oliver felt Chloe pull back from him, but he opened his eyes to a mere millisecond glance before she'd knocking him on his back again and stood up.

"If you won't relent. I suppose we should fight then." she spoke with a wavering control over her voice.

"I suppose." he agreed, leaning up on his forearms. "Guess I should change from the jeans if we're going to be playing dirty then." he chuckled and stood, walking from the room.

Chloe breathed heavily as he walked from sight. How had this happened? She could no longer kiss him without her stomach swirling with butterflies and her heart leaping from her damn chest. Stupid stupid man. This was all his fault.

That kiss, that damn kiss. Oliver may have been able to drug her brain chemistry and make her believe she loved him with his kisses, but that last one, that wasn't an Oliver kiss, that was an Arrow kiss. A kiss that consumed, a kiss that started a fire in your belly. It wasn't just _like_ an Arrow kiss. It **was** Arrow's kisses. The way he tasted, the way he held her like he was utterly consumed by her. The need, the motions, the possessive lust claimed her wholly.

But Oliver couldn't be Arrow. Arrow was harsh, he was demanding, he _certainly_ didn't have any romantic notions about her. She was just confused. Right?

There was a perfectly logical explanation. She was mixing what she wanted with what she had. She had Oliver giving her all she needed emotionally, but not sexually… and Arrow was the flip side of that coin, her mind was mixing them to create a perfect man.

Oliver was **not** Arrow, of that she was almost sure. Her insanity shouldn't even be encouraged by thinking it.

Besides, it was not impossible that two men kissed similarly, or perhaps had the same jawline. Maybe jawline shape correlated to kissing ability. It was plausible that every man with that jawline could thrill her with kisses like Oliver and Arrow did.

She just needed to separate them… If she was compromising for a lack of sex by seeing Arrow in him, a good fuck would cure her problem. And she'd finally be able to finish her work, she swore, promising herself to not think of it again.

She only prayed a fuck would cure the other problem he had caused to.

She couldn't fall for the job.

She never had before, and she wouldn't now.

Oliver was just handsome, that was the only thing rushing the chemicals around her body. He was rich, he knew how to wine and dine a woman. He could battle her word for word and was intelligent conversation. All it was, was little things building into something she'd tricked herself into thinking was bigger. Nothing more than a chemical rush. Nothing at all.

The world would keep spinning without him, the sun would still rise, and she would finish her job. Both of them. Arrow would give her her thrills, and Oliver would be gone from her mind as soon as she slept with him. By Christmas she'd be living it up somewhere nice and warm, she'd find new friends, she'd take a long term lover an-

Her mood saddened at the thought. Clearly something in her wanted Queen to take that spot. And hopefully, she'd be rid of that damn demon quickly. It was making her mind more clouded. What she thought she had planned was easily slipping out of her grasp. Her control was almost non-existent. Even her stupid brain chemistry had turned against her.

And it was all his fault.

**His **fault.

She eyes clicked up to Queen's return. Loose joggers sat around his hips, the band of his boxers poking through as he crossed the room to her. He saw determination in her eyes, he saw a fight inside her, and he felt her anger shake the room. She needed to release some tension, whatever it was. He was willing to play ball.

"No holding back." he spoke and with a quick nod she sprinted the distance, her fist flying at him with a speed he hadn't predicted. He had no choice but to dodge, and swipe her off her feet. But she jumped his leg like an old game of skipping and her fists came at him again, her kick heading to finish the combo he was forced to block.

He pulled a lock from her punch, she countered it and took him to the floor.

But she didn't pin him, she kept upright, standing the steps away breathing heavily as she waited for him to stand.

Oliver pushed himself to his feet and not a second later she was back again, forcing him up and down the length of the room. She was quick, easy on her feet, not afraid of a fist flying at her. She had passion, anger and hate in her, and she was showing her colours in bright red. He actually found her a challenge, not a challenge that he'd lose, but something better than his usual competition.

He watched her shove a hand through her hair again, as unruly as it was it refused to stay out of her vision, but as it fell back down with gravity she didn't give it a care, instead charging towards him. Her emotions were ruling her, something had her mad.

He pulled her into a grab from the punch and locked her arms behind her to stop another flip onto his back. But instead of conversation she jumped lithely, landing her feet on his thighs and pushing him backwards off balance. He released her quick, saving himself from the damage of gravity. Again, she crossed the room, pacing on her feet. She reminded him of a boxer, filled with determination and adrenaline.

She wanted a fight, she needed to burn this off. Nothing easy, nothing handicapped for her gender, just a good fight. He understood.

He had been a little soft he supposed and sprang back upright, planning for her speed and slipped on the inside of her punch, bracing her and sweeping his leg to take the back of hers. She went down, but with a twist of her leg between his two strong ones she rolled and dragged him down to his knees too.  
>Her now free leg came swinging through the air aimed straight for his head. He ducked and pounced, caging her on the floor as they had been only minutes ago.<p>

"You're a wild one." he complimented. "Where did you learn?" Her breathing was hard and shallow, panting beneath him.

"Here and there." she spoke dismissively, her anger clearly yet to fade.

"That's not an answer."

"You won't get a better one." she replied.

"Fair enough." He rolled off her and they both resumed standing positions.

* * *

><p>They squared off, her anger fading as they fought, he could tell simply by her posture.<p>

But she wasn't done yet.

They worked across the room, blocking and dodging, attacking and striking. They each went to the floor several times, but she refused to pin him, she kept forcing him back to stand. He couldn't understand why, until he had her in his grip again. She was pressed to his front, chest to chest, her wrists solidly in his grasp behind her back, her face tilted to his. Closer than they'd been in a while, the type of close she'd have to be to pin him or fight him on the floor. He knew the escape from the position was to head-butt the assailant, but here she was just staring up at him. Fear in her eyes.

Not fear from the move though, surely she knew the counter. How could she not with her skill. But… fear of him. His grip loosened, but she didn't take the opportunity, she seemed locked, looking up at him. Her heart was pounding, he could feel it against his own. She was truly scared. He let her hands free, but she didn't move an inch.

"Chloe, you okay?" His hands settled on her arms, finding them cold rather than the clammy heat of exercise he expected. Had he done something? Was she hurt?

Chloe blinked herself back from her thoughts, a stray tear trying to find its release from her eyes. She stepped back from Oliver like his touch had burned, turning and scrubbing her eyes while he couldn't see. "Maybe that's enough for today." he spoke. She fought to protest, but she wanted to clear her head too. Back home away from him was a good decision.

"Yeah" she agreed quietly.

"Maybe, we shouldn't do this again."

"No." She was quick to answer, turning back to him. It was the best practice she'd had, she'd never felt so… alive, than fighting with him. He was a challenge, he was something new she hadn't tried and memorised. He wasn't Lex; using his fighting to punish or teach, and he wasn't the opposite; taking pity on her gender and pulling his punches. He was a good fight, a good fight she needed to clear her head.

But as soon as she answered her racing mind came thundering back to her. She didn't need proximity to Queen. It was just making this whole thing worse. For God's sake she'd frozen mid-fight because of these damn feelings he'd stirred in her.

"Sure." he conceded. "Another time." And with a smile he crossed the mat to her. "You sure you're alright?" She nodded.

"Just got caught up in thought."

"Coffee?" he offered and she could have melted and died happy. But why did he have to be so perfect like that?

Still, she persuaded herself that the warm melting sensation in her heart was her love for coffee, not the man delivering it.

"Yes. I would love coffee right now." And he grinned, taking her hand and leading her from the mats and towards the kitchen.

Oliver was confused, to put things lightly. She'd been scared to death of him, but had no problem in accepting his hand and following him into his kitchen. Or his coffee. Surely if she was scared she'd rather flee.

Still, as confused as he was, the woman still looked amazing. He guided her to one of his bar stools at the island and set the coffee maker ahead. She sat quiet, taking the tie from her hair and re-sorting the mess.

She looked adorable, her clothes stuck to her, she had sweat patches, her deodorant had taken over her personal space with a vengeance, and all he could think of was kissing her.

The coffee maker started its usual noises and he took a seat opposite her. She finished re-tying her hair in an ordered way and smiled to him.

"You're good." he complimented, taking an apple from the bowl and offering her something. She pulled a face and declined, her eyes tracking the progress of the coffee instead. "And clearly a coffee addict."

"All my life." she swore with a smile. "You're pretty damn good yourself. Where did you learn?"

"Here and there." he repeated with a cheeky smile.

His lack of answer had her brain moving in a different direction. She wanted to say it wasn't a test to encourage her insanity, but her heart seemed to hang in the words. What would she do if for some reason her insanity proved true? Her eyes lifted to him.

"Ever heard of the Green Arrow Bandit?" Oliver didn't expect the question, he had to re-write his brain for a few second before answering.

"I live in Metropolis and read the paper, so that's a big yes."

"What do you think of him?"

And Oliver had a decision. He could lie, tell her he hated him and hope she'd share her theories with him regarding Arrow. Or, he could tell her that he supported Green Arrow and hope to change her mind out of this hunt. He took the easy way out.

"There's good and bad."

"And what about those people who want to unmask him?"

He couldn't help but be honest in this reply.

"I think they should leave him alone. He's not hurting anyone."

"He's blown up several of Luthor's facilities." she argued.

"He's never hurt a person though." he continued, still calm in his voice, despite what he wanted to yell at her.

"True." She was honest, he could hear the truth. She wasn't buying anything Lex was feeding her. He felt proud, not for any reason he could label, but there was still pride. She trusted Arrow. Did she trust Oliver too?

"Why? Are you telling me Lex has you working to unmask Arrow?"

"If I was, what would you think?" She looked so vulnerable as she lifted her eyes to his. But underlying, he saw darkness, lies and a test. Had she finally started to connect dots?

"I'd think that you'd be very brave. I doubt Arrow is happy with this." He took two mugs from the cupboard, the cream and sugar slid onto the island with them. For some reason Chloe felt sold at this point. There was no way Oliver was Arrow. It was too… 'unlikely'. It was… she couldn't put her finger on it, but she believed his words. The Arrow she knew would have picked up in anger, he would have been harsh with his answers. They were two very different people.

"And if I told you I wasn't enjoying the job Lex has given me?" she continued with a sigh, her test gone, but she didn't feel happy about her result. Had she wanted Oliver to be Arrow? She had no idea. Her brain was clearly fried. She filed away the entire thought. Oliver was just Oliver. He was the sweet romantic man that had drugged her into feelings for him and insisted upon three dates before stripping off clothes. Nothing like Arrow, she scoffed.

Oliver froze, his hand on the coffee pot as it finished its dripping.

"I'd wonder why you were doing it." Chloe zoned back in on the present, shutting out Arrow from her mind.

"I wonder sometimes too." she answered softly. "But work is work." she admitted and accepted the coffee from him, breathing in the sweet aroma. It was so rich, so heavenly. She mixed herself the cream but no sugar and rose the cup to her lips. "This is good." she spoke after the first whiff. "This is amazing." she corrected after the first sip.

"It's grown in some mountain somewhere." He couldn't remember what it was called though. "My assistant speaks coffee and she told me it was the best."

"I can believe her, but it's second best."

"Second huh?" he enquired, leaning forward onto the tabletop.

"At Christmas, there's this cinnamon and nutmeg blend that hits shelves. It's more than a few miles drive to the store that sells it, so I usually can't be bothered. Sometimes, they sell throughout the year, but it's always stocked up at Christmas, and it's the best I've ever had."

"Cinnamon and nutmeg huh? I'll be sure to make a note."

"You _are_ looking to get in my good graces." she confirmed.

"I'd like to think I'm already there." He smirked and rose from his chair. "Com'on." And she took his extended hand again. He walked her and her hugged coffee mug into his living space. "You can tell me your life story."

She settled into the sofa next to him, her legs curled up under her.

"It's not much." she admitted.

"I'd still like to hear it." She shrugged.

"I grew up in a small house, I went to school. I did well, I was hired by Lex. I travelled and now I'm back with Lex."

"That's an awfully summarised summary." he noted.

Chloe sighed, and it wasn't forced. She set the coffee on the table and laid her fingers on the bottom of the tank top.

"There's a reason I don't talk about my past." She lifted up the top, her back to him. "The old man was a mean drunk." she simply added, closing her eyes to prevent the tears that wanted to escape. She whispered her apology to her father.

"Do you mind?" She opened her eyes, seeing his hand a ghost from her.

"Go ahead." And a warm touch came to her back, smoothly tracing the lines Lionel had left.

"I'll kill him." And she felt an anger from him, something she hadn't expected. She got pity, she got sorrow from the rare few who saw them, but never anger.

"He beat you to the punch. Died in prison. Suicide." she spoke, lowering the top as his fingers left.

"Your mother?"

"Don't know. She just stopped coming home while I was still a child."

"She left you with this man?" Chloe saw the grip on his coffee tighten. How could he react so angry when the pain was all hers? Did he feel obliged to protect her?

"She's probably dead in all honesty. Either way, it's not her fault." No, her mother was spending some quality time with other people that had the crazies. Chloe Maine's mother had left her father for another man, and probably was dead by now. She did every drug under the sun.

"Sorry." he spoke.

"Sorry you didn't have parent's either." she replied. His past had been a big pool of hurt, until the women came flocking for his money. He'd slept his way through boarding school, waltz through life, but carried the burden of being alone all the time. It wasn't easy. Chloe knew that. At least her past wasn't plastered over papers as headline news.

"Well, we turned out alright." he answered, pulling a fake smile. But she saw the lack of spark in his eyes as he did, and in that moment she didn't care about the crazy feeling she got from him. She just wanted to soothe the pain she knew so well and saw in him.

Chloe lifted her coffee back to her hands and shuffled across the sofa. Oliver's smile turned true and he lifted an arm, allowing her to cuddle into him.

He could feel her relax, feel her warmth. All he could think was that it was for him, that she didn't do this for Lex. He could hardly picture a man like Lex being there for her in any way that involved personal contact. His arm wrapped her further into him, entirely unconsciously, but her eyes lifted and he realised the possessive gesture.

But her eyes shone with that glow of warmth she'd been amiss before. She moved and he thought she'd be tugging against him for more space, but she re-arranged herself closer to him. She leant into his side, her face rubbing against his shoulder before she found a comfy spot and closed her eyes. Much like a content cat, nuzzling its master before choosing the place to sleep. He breathed her in, took the moment in all its glory.

He was alive again, powerful. She had resisted him the entire way, but somewhere along the last few days she'd tripped and fallen for him. He could feel it.

* * *

><p>"I'll drive you home." Oliver offered as she picked back up her coat.<p>

"A taxi works just as well, but if you insist." she purred, following him out. But then she was faced with the elevator again. "Have I told you before how much I hate your elevator?"

"You'll get used to it."

"That insinuates I'll be taking more rides in it." She glanced over at him with sharp eyes, but still stepping into the death trap. "I'd really rather not."

"Some people like elevators." he claimed, watching her tense as the door shut and the motions jolted her. "A lot of steamy things can happen with two people alone in an enclosed space."

"Oh, I have no objection to elevators in general." she snapped. "Just yours." And her smile flashed at him for a second.

"Noted."

"Any chance you'll let me drive the Lamborghini now?"

"We had a deal." he simply answered.

"But you could always use this as a kind of 'test' as to whether you deem me capable of driving her."

"You'll wait." he laughed as the elevator doors opened again and they both stepped out.

"Oh, com'on. Please!" she laughed as well, dancing around him.

But they both froze as the air parted on either side of them, an arrow slicing past the lovers and slamming into the wall. Chloe's heart beat faster for all the wrong reasons as her vision locked on the arrow.

Oliver tugged her from where she stood shocked still staring at the fletching.

Arrow… it was Arrow. Her heart thumped, sunk, froze and raced all at the same time. She flicked her sight to Queen on the left, Arrow on the right.

What kind of fucked up world had she slammed the two of them together in?! Oliver was **clearly** not Arrow!

"Queen!" The booming voice came from the voice distorter that had become so familiar to her. Chloe let Oliver tug her from the archer's line of fire and behind the car.

"You're _friend_ doesn't seem to like me." Oliver hissed to her. Chloe didn't know if words were actually in her brain or were just blocked. What was he doing here? She looked up through the car windows to the roof top. Broad daylight showed the clarity she had hoped to avoid. It was definitely Arrow. His height, his

costume, his voice. His arrows slamming into the car and drawing another shock of action from Oliver to tug her back down. "What the hell?" he asked her.

"Queen." The archer called again. "The goblet."

Chloe's eyes snapped over to Oliver.

"What goblet?" she hissed.

Oliver sighed.

"I bought an artefact. A 12th century chalice from a French cathedral."

"Where from?" she asked, already feeling what the answer would be.

"An old friend's business is crashing, he needs the money to stay afloat but wouldn't accept a donation." he explained. "So, I bought this from him instead."

"Your friend got the chalice from the black market. And now you have it."

"The black market? No, he had it for years."

"Everything Arrow's stolen has been bought off the black market. You're hoarding something he wants to return to its owner."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Where is the goblet now?"

"I sold it on to someone a few hours ago; wasn't exactly my style."

Another arrow slammed into the car where her head attempted to peek up.

Oliver tugged her back down again. "Any idea how we turn him off?" he asked Chloe. "_Before_ he shoots a hole in your head." She slitted her eyes to him, but called out to the archer.

"He sold it on!" Her voice carried across the space easily. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Oliver. He tried to help out a friend and just got trouble instead.

"Name." The voice distorted shouted back.

Chloe jabbed an elbow to Oliver's ribs when he didn't immediately answer. A name came from Oliver's lips quickly and flew across the distance.

"Let's hope we never meet again." The archer called and Chloe watched the view as the green form ran the rooftops out of sight. As she lost her visual she dropped back to the ground, her head resting heavily against the car. To think she even thought for a second it could be Oliver that was the Green Arrow. Laughable really…

Maybe she had been confused, maybe she'd had too many men that they all seemed to blur into one. Next she'd be thinking Lex was the Green Arrow. Now that **was** laughable.

"I guess I owe you one big apology." Oliver spoke, his hand over hers. She smiled.

"Actually, I think I should thank you."

"Thank me?"

"There are several arrows lodged into your car with possible finger prints on them." She dropped a kiss to Oliver's cheek and pushed herself up and around the car, inspecting the arrow, it was feather-headed. She wouldn't be able to pull that out herself. "Any chance you can pull that out?" she asked. Oliver came behind her and chuckled.

"Anyone else would be terrified at being shot at, you know."

"We already decided I was special though." She laughed and turned in his arms. "But, like you said. You owe me for almost getting me killed." Oliver grinned.

"How about I get someone to deliver you the arrows when I get them out?"

"I would like that." She wrapped her arms around him.

"My driver's on his way here to drop you off." He pressed his lips to hers. "Stay safe."

"I'm not the one helping out friends and condemning myself." she wittily replied. "And, for future broke friends. Just force a hand-out upon them and don't buy their junk." Oliver laughed, pulled her into his embrace while the driver arrived.

* * *

><p>Chloe had barely got home before her phone started another fuss. Unknown number. And it was to her client phone. She needed to yell at Arrow… but she supposed it could wait a few minutes. Deeming the number important, she answered the call, but let the caller speak first.<p>

"Chloe. It's happening tonight." The voice brought her a smile. Mr Chan. His accent was the biggest give-away and it always made her happy to hear him.

"What time and where?"

"Thorns Row. 11pm start. Need you by midnight."

"I'll be there." she replied, scribbling the street name on the back of a receipt. "Anything new?"

"New players. Need an upgrade to finish. But, same as usual." he spoke out.

"I'll bring what's necessary." she finished.

The instant Chloe hung up to Mr Chan, she dialled Arrow.

He answered quickly.

"Figured you'd be calling."

"You _did_ shoot at me."

"You know I would have hit you if I had aimed for you." The voice was witty, clever. Arrogant. How had she ever thought this had been Oliver?!

"I get you don't like me hanging around Queen, but that's hardly the reason to start laying arrows into his car."

"He has others." The reply was simple… but truthful.

She didn't really have much of the argument she thought she would have.

"Did you find the damn goblet?" she hissed instead.

"I did, thank you for asking." he chuckled.

"You could have asked you know, rather than firing projectiles."

"I have a flair for the dramatic. Plus, Queen should know to fear me."

"Haha." she laughed, heavy with sarcasm. "You need to get over yourself."

"I'll consider it." She shook her head in humour at him. But her phone beeped, another call was trying to get through. Lex, she presumed.

"Play nice, and no more shooting at my job, alright?"

"I get it. Luthor calls, you answer." he spoke, his egotistical attitude smothering in the tone.

She ended the call, not bothering to reply. But, she declined Lex's as well, proving herself to be more than what Arrow thought and instead heading to the shower. Besides, after her tumble with Oliver, she didn't smell quite so fresh.

* * *

><p>As she patted her hair with the towel she read two missed calls from Lex on her phone.<p>

No time like the present.

She hit dial and put it on loudspeakers, intending to tackle her hair while speaking to him.

"Progress?"

"Second date for Thursday." she quickly answered, grabbing the comb off the dresser and standing before the mirror as she stroked it through her hair.

"I presume that will be the Isis fundraiser?" he guessed.

"Sadly."

"And Arrow?"

"A third left of martial arts centres, then I'll start archery centres. It may take a week or so, to get through general clientele pool."

"That's fine." he answered. "You were out all day." he noted. Chloe got that sinking feeling that being further away from him had increased his surveillance…

"Arrow took the first half of my morning, 'interviewing' instructors, and the second half, Queen had me." she answered, deciding to edit out the latter part including her visit from Arrow.

"What happened?" Lex didn't seem as happy with her update as she thought he would.

"He learnt about my scars." she simply answered. The words took no emotion with them as they left her lips.

"You seem off. What aren't you telling me?"

She sighed.

"Nothing Lex. I'm just tired."

There was a moment of silence, but it passed quickly. Lex was always in control.

"You'll send me what files you have from his apartment." Chloe saw her reflection wince.

"I could hardly take anything the first day Lex." she spoke quickly, hoping he didn't know she was making it up as she went along. Truth be told, she just entirely forgot the mission the second she flew a punch to him. "Besides, I'll be going back multiple times."

This time the silence didn't end quite as quickly. She heard the shuffle of papers on the desk, the clicking of his mouse to his computer. He was purposefully putting her on edge, she could feel it.

Eventually, he spoke again, seeing she wasn't going to grovel.

"I need more Chloe. Prove to me this chance wasn't for nothing." His tone was clipped.

"It wasn't." she answered and the connection died. Chloe looked at the phone and sighed. She felt like she was trapped in a web of lies. Lying to Lex, lying to Arrow, lying to Queen.

Oh well, time for some good honest work with the underworld of criminals running Metropolis.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Poor Chloe :(<p>

Review for pleasure chemicals released in your brain ;)

In other news; I hate to do this to you, and I'll do my best to keep posting at least weekly, however... I've been having a lot of migranes recently (almost daily), which makes even looking at a laptop screen impossible. This could end in a doctors trip, or could just be that I need a week of zero screens to fix my brain.  
>Either way, the next two chapters are already proofed and ready to go up, so I have them as back up incase anything happens and I can't do any work.<p>

I'll try and get better as fast as I can.


	21. The House Always Wins

The reviews have been lovely. If you've took the time to review, I thank you so much, they really perk me up. Thank you :)

Haha, I got a lovely review referencing the movie Swordfish, I watched the movie and i'm happy to say Chloe's job is not as... ummm, what's the word... deathly? dangerous? twisted in secrets and lies? (The ending to Swordfish was amazing!- thank you for the movie reference Hildolfr, I enjoyed it).

I enjoy posting weekly, I shall try my best to keep to this. It makes my tuesday inbox a very nice place to be :)

**Previously;** Chloe went to Ollie's apartment, they had a little fighting session. She realised she loves him and that he shares a LOT of traits with GA :O But then, as they were leaving his apartment, there he was :O (It was Victor in make-up/costume incase you got curious. He's the only one with the aim to pull it off).

**Now;** Chloe's off to help some criminals for cash :)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty One; The House Always Wins<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>The heart has a way of clouding one's better judgement'<em>- Lex Luthor. (Season Five, Episode Cyborg)

* * *

><p>It had been years, but she knew her way like it was only days. Then again, it wasn't hard to find places like these, you just followed the fear and headed the direction you wanted to run from. But Chloe felt no fear, felt no dread. For her, it felt like she belonged, like coming home. There was an odd sense of comfort in the air of the dark streets on Metropolis, especially in the back alleys. Her mind drifted to Arrow, she wondered what he was doing. But guilt seemed to grip her heart, what would Oliver think about her time with Arrow? Her steps sped up. It didn't matter what he thought, right? They were both the job! Besides, right now that wasn't an issue, she could get some time away from both of them for now.<p>

The heels slowed as she came closer to her target door, scanning the street up and down. Finding herself entirely alone again, she stopped by the old green door labelled Warehouse 23. The actual building had long been emptied, as was the standard for meetings like this. Mr Chan had a very important friend in real estate, he could point him towards to empty buildings so he could store his 'merchandise' ready for sale.

Chloe rolled her eyes. Though the city was corrupt in so many ways, she had no problem with this.

She knocked trice and stepped back. The door was as old as the warehouse, paint chipping off, black grunge that was once oil caking the hinges and old newspapers lining the floor as a tramp's ex-bed and now doormat.

"Aye-aye." The grumble came to the door.

It was always disappointing to not hear Alfie's voice on the other side. But he'd stopped working for Chan after his knee gave in. Besides, he was a bit **too** grumpy. A lot of folks who came for the game re-thought their entrance after seeing him. He was bad for business, but good for security.

"It's cold." she spoke back as the locks and bolts turned. A chuckle came with the next deadlock being drawn and the door opening. The hinges creaked as it opened, an aged wrinkled face came to the gap. It smiled at her. A feint stench of cigars and cigarettes came to her nose; she was in the right place.

"Didn't expect you." he spoke. But let her in and re-sealed the door. "Here, I'll take your coat." Chloe smiled, shuffling herself from the warmth and handing it over to the old man. She followed his shuffle into what was the manager's office of the warehouse. He'd set himself up with a television and some old comedy film playing on it. She smiled at him as he folded her coat onto the spare chair and lowered himself into the lounger with great effort. "Suppose you're not here to play this time." he noted at the outfit. Chloe wore a simple white blouse and black pencil skirt, the usual Mr Chan ordered for his 'waitresses'.

"Work actually." she answered, watching his eyebrows raise. Eyebrows that were far too long to suggest he had control over them as they covered his sunken eyes.

"Go on then." He waved a hand towards the other door and she walked her way towards it, the heels constantly speaking of her movement.

The smell of cigars significantly increased as she entered the main room, following the few steps onto the warehouse floor.

The poker tables sat a comfortable distance apart, Mr Chan taking his usual place with the big fish, grumbling to another 'waitress' he'd hired about a customer. A few nervous eyes scanned her and she easily labelled the new faces. It seemed Mr Chan had been making friends. A **lot** of friends

"Nice of you to show up." There, wrapped in his own branded smoke was Mr Slick and Greasy, her party pal. She found his scent rather pleasing to the overpowering range of cigars the high rollers smoked.

"Ah!" Mr Chan's exclamation came across the room to her, as he turned and laid eyes on her form.

"Had to shake a tail." she muttered to her slick friend, answering his unasked question and stepping from his space to greet Mr Chan halfway. Well, a little less than halfway as he barrelled towards her with great big strides.

Her greeting came as a half handshake, half hug.

"It's been a long while. I hope your skills are still sharp."

"As good as ever." she replied, accepting his embrace.

Mr Chan was a large man to say the least, he liked pale coloured suits, generally in the cream style he wore now, and liked to wear the same type of crisp black shirt under them. He liked to look good. He liked to change his facial hair too.

"I like the moustache." Chloe complimented and he laughed the laugh of a larger man with full effect.

"Yes, I find it gives me a dash of interest to more adventures." Chloe smiled at the Japanese accent in his every word, as confusing as they sometimes were.

"I imagine you want the same deal as usual?" she enquired, accepting his arm as he led her around the tables.

"Hmmm, I need some little extra at the end. A few financial matters need attention." She doubted the financial matters would be anything like Lex's usual requests, but it didn't matter.

"Anything for you." Chloe beamed up at him and they walked on as he introduced a few big fish and slimy characters for her to keep an eye on as they roamed the room. The games hadn't begun yet, they wouldn't until Mr Chan gave the word.

The poker match was his way of checking his distributions went accordingly. That his product was selling.

Drugs?

Arms?

Chloe didn't care.

He paid and she needed the money. Besides, what people decided to do with his goods was their decision. He may put murder weapon in murderer's hands, but he wasn't pulling the trigger for them. They did that all by themselves.

Chloe was paid to arrange drinks, from their makeshift bar to the hands of players. No, that wasn't her main wage. Her cut came from the snooping on the side, she'd feedback to Mr Chan who was cheating in his game. Of course anyone who had the money was free to play, he didn't limit it to his employees. It didn't matter, the house would take the majority of money. Sometimes he wanted her as dealer, to play snoop for a certain table. Men who tangled with the dark underbelly of the law usually weren't opposed to cheating at a poker match, but Mr Chan, however, was.

Still, it was a break from thinking about her current jobs. Or, at least, it was… until Mr Chan took her arm and turned her to the door, where tall, blonde and handsome walked in.

Chloe's stomach flip-flopped, her heart pounded three beats too fast for logic and then she froze, her eyes on the blonde man who shook hands with another rich idiot.

"Mr Queen." Chan labelled the blonde fish to join the pond, though he needed no introduction. She was torn between being happy he was here, and being angry that… well, that he was here. "Lots of money, bad game of poker." Chan whispered with a chuckle.

"He's not on your payroll is he?" The dread would consume her if she didn't know.

"No. I just enjoy taking his money." he laughed. "You know him?"

"Slightly." she lied, the weight lifting from her somewhat. Why, oh why, were the butterflies swimming again?! She'd done nothing more than look at him across a room. What was wrong with her?!

"Well, he just made it in time." Mr Chan turned to the room, a smile on his face. His hand took a steel rod from the side of the room and tapped it several times to the stone ground, the equivalent of tapping the side of a champagne flute surely. Either way, the eyes came flooding to them.

Chloe targeted Oliver, watching his eyes go wide as he recognised her. Clearly both had expected indulging in a secret hobby tonight.

"Welcome all. It's great to have you here." Chan's booming voice came over what was left of the chitter chatter. "Everyone knows the rules. Play well, play fair and win big!" he laughed as he spoke and walked to the centre of the room. "No chips, just money. Once you've lost it, you've lost it." he announced, walking around the tables as the selected 'waitresses' took to their places as dealers. "Don't try to bribe the dealers, they are mine and there will be consequences. No weapons at the table." Chloe rose her eyebrows at that one. That _was_ a new rule. Before it was obvious, but to need to be said… something must have happened. "If you fight, you'll be escorted elsewhere by my friends." Several men dressed in all black by the doors were waved over by Chan. "Be nice to the waitresses, they're here to serve alcohol and something pretty to look at rather than the ugly mugs of you all." Again his laugher came clear across the room. Chloe smiled for the audience turning their eyes to her. Choosing not to look at Queen, she walked from the middle of the tables to the bar while Chan finished with his rules and information delivery.

Finally, the men took their seats, only three competing women in the entire warehouse, all at the lower betting tables. Chloe stood with Mr Chan for the first five minutes of the games. He pointed to a few of the men, talked about the game. Generic things.

Then Chloe started her rounds of the tables. It was strange system. To enable Chloe to view all of the tables and men, she'd take the drink orders and just feed them back to the two women at the bar who would pour and deliver them. But it worked. In 10 minutes, she was standing by the table where Queen sat, her notepad in hand, prepared to write drinks by the seat numbers of the table.

"What can I get you kind gentlemen this evening?" she purred, ignoring the way Oliver seemed to grip his cards tighter. She knew how to work men, she knew these crooked males were no different.

"An hour of your time tonight!" One brave fellow spoke to her left his arm coming around her waist, tugging her closer to him and earning a righteous laugh from the group. All except Oliver, who seemed to want to strangle him. Chloe let out a giggle for her proposing suitor, flirting back.

"If you win, I'll consider." she spoke, the same answer she'd given all the brave and idiotic men in the room.

"I'll take that challenge." He grinned, taking his hand back to his cards.

"And for drinks?" she asked the same man.

"Bourbon love, and keep it coming all night." Chloe inclined her head in a short motion, writing the word bourbon with a star next to his number. The star her short hand for the other waitresses to know he wanted refills.

Chloe turned her eyes to the rest of the table.

"Whiskey. Dry." Another replied, giving her a grin with 2 missing teeth. She noted and turned to the next man. She watched him rub his shaggy, brown hair as he answered.

"Ummm, any beer is good for me Doll." he decided. She sure hoped he was better at concealing his poker face than his nerves. Her mind labelled him as Chan's payroll rather than a voluntary player. Shame, he wasn't too bad looking either. Nothing on Queen though. And the blonde of her attentions sat two chairs away, his eyes tracking her as she moved. She ignored him, hoping the urge to touch him would fade.

The other men gave their orders as she rounded the table. But Oliver caught her before she could ask for his order. Leaning back on his chair, his arm reached out to stop her and wrap her in his grasp. She stopped, but dodged his hand.

"For you sir?" she asked, keeping her appearance up. But the other men were consumed by the game.

"Anything you _don't_ do?" Oliver asked, his voice quiet and harsh. She grinned.

"Belly dancing." she wittily replied. "Entirely beyond me." She side stepped to keep walking.

"Scotch!" he called after her. Chloe waved her hand, accepting the order and moved to the bar with a smile on her lips.

* * *

><p>Things moved as they should. Empty pocketed players left with miserable looks. Dealers and bar-staff bid their goodbyes to Mr Chan as each table emptied, the winners moving onto a bigger one. Just Chloe and another woman remained. She was dealing for the last table, Chloe was drifting around the men, topping up drinks and keeping an eye out. So far she'd been responsible for kicking out six players. Two who thought counting cards would go un-noticed. Two for signalling each other their cards. Another who tried to bribe a dealer under the table. And another who had been a bit too drunk to get the no sign from his waitress.<p>

Mr Chan smiled at her as she approached his seat on an empty table. The cash in his hands being sorted into piles for easy counting.

"I appreciate this." he started, his fingers pausing the counting. "I don't know how you do it, but you make me a lot of money." he praised with a toothy grin, nudging out the chair next to him with his foot. She sat.

"The last table is pretty fair. None of them have cheated before, I don't see why they would now. Besides, Maria will be able to see that." She had a quick eye and had above average intelligence compared to the other women he hired.

"And Oliver Queen?"

"What about him?" Her eyes cast over to the blonde turning his cards in his hand. Horizontal, vertical. Horizontal, vertical. Like watching a broken windmill trying to turn. But he did it a lot. One of those habits people pick up. Overall, he was a good poker player, he didn't care about the money and he was clever enough to pull off a good bluff. But there was the other side of that coin, not caring about winning or losing didn't give you enough of a push to raise big or play fast. He thought more than acted on impulse.

Mr Chan wasn't entirely wrong about his skill. Chloe could tell he wouldn't win. Her bet, if she was to make one, would go to the larger man two places to Queen's right. He had a tendency to rub his thumb against his pointer fingers whenever he placed a bet. Chloe had thought it could be a signal to start with, or a really bad player's give away. But as others tried to figure it out and bet according to his thumbs, she realised the real truth. The man had recent light burns on the tips of his pointer fingers. He was probably just trying to sooth the hurt from touching cards or placing money. But others still were kept guessing by his motions, and this was why she thought he'd win. People were looking for signals from him that didn't exist.

"He's been giving you looks all night." Chan spoke.

"He's not the only one." She tried to pass it off as usual behaviour. But Chan didn't buy it.

"Other players say he's been asking questions."

"What kind of questions?" Now she was curious.

"If they'd seen you before." he answered, turning in his seat closer to her. "One was stupid enough to say you'd worked for me years before… I had him escorted out."

"I appreciate it." She didn't smile though. "But Queen's not trouble."

"If you insist."

"I do." she replied this time adding her usual smile. "Are you ready for me to work your finances?"

"In the back. Come with me."

Chan grinned, piling his money back into the lock box and taking it under his arm.

* * *

><p>Oliver stood, finishing his game. Shaking hands with the man to his left; he was a good competitor.<p>

He shoved his arms in the jacket that had hung over his chair. It wasn't a complete loss today. Sure, he wasn't going to win, but he'd walked away with some more information. Chloe Maine may have been travelling the world and working for Lex, but unless Chloe Maine had spent a year in the slums dealing in everything illegal, this wasn't Chloe Maine.

He stuffed his fingers in his pockets, and made his way to leave. Another man met him on his exit. His jet black hair glued down with gel, a cloud of cigarette smoke lingering over him.

"Good game Queen." he congratulated. "Didn't expect you to make it this far."

"Luck." Oliver simple answered.

"And the look between you and the blonde waitress, luck too?"

"She's a friend." Oliver followed, trying to step around the guy. He didn't allow it.

"Seem awfully inquisitive about her for a friend…" he noted, drawing a cigarette from his pocket.

Oliver narrowed his eyes at the man. What was his angle?

"What do you want?"

"For the right price-" He flickered a lighter to life, took a drag of the lit smoke almost instantly. "I'll tell you everything you want to know about her." he propositioned. "Interested?"

Oliver was most definitely interested.

There was one reason he came to these poker matches; information. Crooked men discussed business over cards. Sometimes it was relevant to his business decision, sometimes it was relevant to Arrow's hobbies, but now it was providing information for Oliver's social life too. It certainly was the right place to be, the price of entry was just keeping your mouth shut and not asking questions.

But this man, he seemed to want to sell answers.

"How much?" Oliver asked.

The stick thin man smiled around his cigarette.

"We can talk in the back." Oliver followed the man with the answers through a back room, along a corridor and into an empty area boasting nothing more than a metal table and chair. As Oliver stood, hands in pocket, awaiting a price to be spoken to him, the man grinned and slammed the door shut, sliding a lock and sealing Oliver alone inside.

* * *

><p>"If you need anything more you know my number." Chloe spoke, rubbing the back of her neck and rolling it slowly to ease the cramps of sitting. She'd spent the last half hour chasing down one of Chan's employees who'd ran off with some merchandise, and adding some extra protection to his new system.<p>

"I do. But hopefully we shall part ways for a long time. You're expensive." But he handed the silver briefcase of her money over happily.

"Feel free to use the police next time." she joked, lifting the case's lid and slipping her tech into the nest of money. Her smile grew. One step further from the Luthor grasp. Chan held out her coat, ever the gentleman.

"You're wonderful. Simply wonderful." he praised. "There's always a more permanent spot on my team if you want." He smoothed the material down her arms as she accepted the coat gratefully. "And always one on my arm if you ever change your mind."

She grinned and sealed the case, lifting it from the table.

"If you don't find him from the information I've given-"

"Call you." he finished for her. "I'll have someone drop you home, it's late." he insisted.

She accepted gracefully and took her way down the hall with him following. Everything was perfect until she heard a chair slam into the wall of a room.

"You still working with the cheaters?" she enquired and made the mistake of stepping onto her tiptoes to view through the small slit of a window in the door. "What the hell!" She turned back to Chan. "I told you he wasn't trouble!"

Chan stepped to the window, seeing what she had before. Queen tied to a thrown chair, a bust lip and cut above his eyebrow.

"I was told he was asking too many questions." he spoke solemnly, knowing her reaction would not be positive. "You know the rules."

"And I told you he's nothing to bother with!" she hissed.

"Chloe." His hand touched to her shoulder. "It's the rules." She nudged it off.

"There's a rule of protection too."

"This is to protect you. If he knows too mu-"

"He's my job!" she hissed. Chan stopped. "I'm getting paid to work with him." It was close to the truth.

"And I get paid to keep my work secret." he argued, but his temper was not there.

"Fine. I'll buy him." She shoved the briefcase into his chest, knowing the only other part of Chan's decision making process. Money. "Keep this and let Queen go."

"Chloe, this is for your wo-" he protested

"This is for Queen. Now. Let him go and he won't breathe a word about you."

"He won't be coming back to these if I let him go." he warned.

"I'll lose my job if you beat him within an inch of his life." she snapped. "Take the money and let him leave."

"Very well." Chan accepted and knocked twice on the door. A brute stepped out. "Queen is to be let go. Unharmed. Let him know he cannot return." The brute nodded and stepped back inside.

Chloe took her steps down the corridor before Oliver could see her. He'd lost her her escape fund now. The bastard was messing with her life more than she had even scratched on his. Thing would change!

Chan tried to call her, his voice apologetic. She ignored it, ignored the thought of her tech still inside his briefcase, ignored the tear that stung her eyes. She dismissed her offered ride and stormed down the alley in the cold air, hugging her coat closer to her.

But then she stopped, and slipped around a corner, watching the door she had just left.

If he wasn't out in 4 minutes she'd have a new enemy. And Chan was a lovely person, when rules didn't get in his way. Rules were the only reason he was still in business.

Just as Chloe was losing faith in her deal, Oliver stumbled through the door. Her held breath rushed from her.

"You're lucky you're walking." Chloe watched Chan stand in the doorway. "Speak of anything or come back again and that luck of yours will die." Oliver walked off, offering no reply. Chan slammed the door closed and Chloe watched the limp grow more pronounced as he tried to walk it off.

She had to leave.

As much as she wanted to go to him, to hold him, to tell him she was sorry this had happened…

But at the same moment, she wanted to yell at him, scream for him taking her reward. Why was he here, why was he poking his nose where he didn't belong?  
>That gorgeous nose… She sighed and rested herself against the wall, watching him close in on his car. It was surprising it even still stood to be honest, considering Metropolis had the highest theft rate in the US. Then again, with all big shot criminals inside the poker hall, maybe it was a vacation day for thieves. That, or it was too risky to take a car that could belong to another crime boss.<p>

Should he even be driving? She asked herself, drawing her form further around the wall. Maybe she should offer to drive him home?

No. She hadn't intervened, she hadn't even done anything more than waitress an event. And Oliver had just been playing poker. That was where she'd draw the line.

Why hadn't the car moved? she fumed, starting to worry a little.

Her phone vibrated on her hip, she ignored it, watching the car still. Lex would wait. Besides, it was… she didn't even know the time. But at a guess it was late. 4am maybe.

She dug out her phone, regretfully. It was probably important if Lex was texting at this time. 3:53am she read. And then she read another piece of information that had her lifting her head back to the car.

Text, from Oliver Queen. She listened to the engine start up and the BMW drive from view.

With a calming breath she turned her attention to the phone.

'_Do I even want to know what you were doing there?'_

Chloe smiled, starting her tired feet on the walk back as she typed.

'_Back at you.'_

She tapped back the reply and shoved the phone and hands in her pocket, knowing his response would not come while he was driving.

And then something struck her. He'd been drinking most of the night. Should he REALLY be driving? If only she'd thought of this sooner she would have marched up to the car and insisted upon driving him back. But, he didn't look drunk. She cast her mind to the many articles on Queen. He _could_ hold his liquor well, and he'd had _plenty_ of practice at it. She rolled her eyes and pulled her coat tighter away from the winter's breeze.

She'd managed half a block when her phone vibrated again against her cold hand. He couldn't have driven home by now. She scoffed, clearly he valued the law against using mobile while driving as he did drunk driving. But she pulled the phone out anyway.

'_You're a mysterious woman. Am I ever going to figure you out?'_

No, she instantly thought in reply.

Instead she chose:

'_Says the only man in America to insist upon romance.'_

She wanted so bad to pull him up on his driving etiquette, but if he'd known she'd seen her, his thought process would never reach satisfaction tonight.

'_You can pretend like you don't like it. But I know better.'_

His reply came swift. She rolled her eyes at it.

There was one thing she loved about Metropolis, besides the crime and number of crowds to get lost in. It was nothing on Las Vegas, or the Big Apple, but 4am was not a strange time for people to be out walking. Dog walkers, men kicked out of their girlfriends, nightshift workers and the odd criminal or two.

Chloe turned left from the alleys onto the pavement of a main road. Criminals stuck to back streets at this time. There was car traffic that would see them here. Even at 4am, there was car traffic. Chloe grinned, thinking over her reply.

'_Did you walk away a winner?'_

Her question kept with her identity of who she wanted Oliver to see, rather than what she actually knew and did.

Again, his reply was quick. She hoped it wasn't because he'd caused a pile up and was sitting in the ambulance texting.

Yes, she admitted to herself, she liked him. She wouldn't admit any further. But she didn't want anything to befall the man. He was sweet, he understood her humour, he seemed like everything she'd wanted… and he was sexier than any actor she'd fawned over previously. He was difficult too, which she supposed drew her interest. He had that dark side, mingling with criminals late at night to play poker. He was the bad boy her body craved and the soft romantic her heart begged her for.

She liked him and would be upset if he was injured. But that was where she drew the line. None of this love business her brain's chemicals seemed to want to delude her with. He was just really good company.

Good company like Bart was… and that had no choice but to grow to love. Chloe rarely hated the way her brain thought, but when it added in things like that against her will, it really started to grate on her.

'_Not exactly'_

She looked down at the text. How could he be so… intriguing? All she wanted was to be with him. It felt so wrong to her though. She never wanted like this. And it was all his fault.

Yes, she praised herself, work up her anger against him. She could never love a man she was angry at… not that she loved Oliver, she reminded herself.

It was his fault she'd lost her money tonight. His fault she was feeling like this. His fault she was lusting after him. His fault Lex had even hired her for this and she'd met him. His fault for dragging her out onto that damn balcony. His fault for stopping that damn pervert hitting on her in the bar.

Her cold fingers jabbed at the keys, feeling stiff in the cold but heated from her forced mood.

'_Too bad. Guess I should say good night now then. It's late and you probably need your beauty sleep.'_

Though Chloe herself was feeling the pull of the night on her. She stifled a yawn and pressed on down the street, her heels not as painful as she'd expected considering she'd been on them all night. The phone came alive in her hand again and she caught herself smiling.

'_I __**do **__have a business meeting tomorrow. What about you?'_

Her answer came short.

'_Nothing.'_

The man clearly didn't value the driving laws. But her mind was too occupied on what her plans for tomorrow were. She needed to finish the check on the martial arts places. Possibly start thinking about archery ranges after feeding back to Lex. Then again, she'd been working most of the week. This was her day off. Maybe she'd watch some movies, paint her toenails, lounge around in her pyjamas and refuse to get dressed. Oh, she melted at the thought.

But, she supposed she did need to keep Queen busy tomorrow, and she knew exactly where he'd be. She quickly accessed Milly's bakery website. It was the only bakery within 3 miles that accepted overnight orders and let you pay online. She grinned to herself, ignoring the next text that had come in as she placed an order to Queen Industries.

Her grin as she finished the transaction had killed all of her anger towards Queen in one shot blast.

'_Maybe I can stop by and see you then.'_

She scoffed and laughed aloud.

'_No free dates Mr Queen. Goodnight.'_

Besides, it was her own day, no men. Not that Arrow was going to get that message. She could only hope he was busy.

'_Goodnight sweetness. Dream of me. xxx'_

Usually she would have fired out a reply about it being a nightmare if she did. But… she rather liked the idea. She left the conversation and her smile lasted the walk home As she drifted to sleep in the comfort of her bed, the smile still lay on her face.

* * *

><p>"<em>Chloe!" Lex's hands slammed down on the desk, her small frame recoiling from the sound into the chair. "I know you're lying!" His voice thundered, terrifying her. "Now tell me, who is Green Arrow?"<em>

_Chloe met eyes that screamed for honesty. But, she could never tell him._

"_It's… it's…"_

"_Let her go Lex!" The doors burst open and Oliver appeared in the doorway. He was dressed smart, the black tie hanging loose around his neck.  
><em>

_"Oliver?" Chloe gasped._

"_Queen…" Lex seethed. "Leave, or my security will force you to." he warned._

"_I'm not leaving without Chloe." he stated._

"_Oliver, I can't. I told you, I have a contract."_

"_And so do I!" He marched across the room, slapping the paper from his hand onto Lex's desk. _

"_What is this Queen?" Lex asked, but picked up the paper anyway. "Some desperate attempt to humour me?" But as he kept reading things seemed less humorous._

"_That's right Lex. She's mine."_

"_Oliver. What's going on?" Chloe stood, flashing her glance between the two men._

"_We're married. It's legal, it's binding, and it destroys everything that previous agreement ties you to." Lex's paling expression confirmed Oliver's words._

"_Married? But… I didn't sign anything."_

"_It doesn't matter. You love me don't you?" His eyes. Those expressive eyes took her down and the truth tumbled free._

"_Yes."_

"_Then we're married." he announced._

"_But…" Where her brain didn't follow her body did, taking Oliver's hand._

"_Chloe… where will you go?" Lex called, frozen where he stood, contract in hand certifying a marriage._

"_With her husband." Oliver answered for her. "On our honeymoon." The words addressed her and she felt her stomach fly with butterflies again. _

"_I love you." Was her simple reply. He swept down, taking her lips in the most passionate kiss she'd ever felt. Her toes tingled, her head swam, her skin felt warm again. He was perfect._

"_I love you too. My wife." In awe of the words he kissed her again, before lifting her into his arms and running from the Luthor castle and into the car. He didn't set her down until she was in the seat, and then it was only seconds before they were speeding along the back roads of metropolis._

"_How did you know? How is this even possible?" she asked, oblivious to the speedometer ticking over 200mph, his control was as good as it was at 10mph._

"_Everything is possible. For you." He turned her way, smiling. They locked that way for a while, his hands turning the wheel without any input from his eyes. "You're special Chloe. You can change the world." She smiled brightly, believing his words. "You definitely changed mine."_

"_But the contract?"_

"_Love is much more powerful that an agreement Chloe." His words whispered into her ear. _

_The drive was over faster than she'd noticed and he was there again, lifting her from the car, insisting to take her over the threshold. Chloe looked around. _

"_Where are we?"_

"_Home." he answered, setting her bare feet on the wood, a white dress cascading around her though she didn't recall changing clothes at all. She didn't seem to care, just ran her fingers over the walls and broke into a run through the house. It was huge. Finally, her run finished on the top floor, a warm glow shone from room before her, the door ajar._

"_Oliver?" she called, pushing open the door. There he was, laid across the bed in all his naked glory, the sheet barely covering his essentials as he lounged between pillows._

"_Yes Mrs Queen?" Her head went dizzy at the name, her skin chilled in ecstasy, her blood heated and wetness pooled between her legs. Mrs Queen. Oh, it was something of an aphrodisiac. He noticed. "Yes. You're my Queen now. You're mine and I'm yours." He sat up, the sheet slipping from its previous position, a proud erection waiting for her. "Mrs Queen." he purred and she crept closer, the name calling to her inner most desire. "Come to bed with your husband." The words were melodic to her, drawing her closer and closer. _

_There she stood, white dress the only thing she wore, stood between the legs of a naked man as he perched the edge of the bed. "Tonight is all about you my beautiful bride." he spoke like a lullaby. His hands ran along her arms, her own vision distracted by the ring on her finger as he pulled the lace from behind her, the bodice loosening and coming away with his hands. "Anything you want, everything you want. I will happily give." She was hypnotised by the diamond and his words. Another tug and her dress parted, slipping smoothly like water over her curves. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." The compliment reached her with the ring of truth. She took his hand, allowing him to ease her to the bed. He laid her out. "I can't decide what I like more." he continued. "The gorgeous legs you showcase in your heels." His hands ghost over her legs. "The curve of your hips." Fingers rolled over the hips. "The insatiable appetite." With a melodic laugh he pressed his lips to her stomach, his eyes always on hers. "The beautiful breasts I can't help but dream about." Hands caressed the soft skin, teasing the nipples with quick strokes. _

"_Oliver." she moaned his name, calling to his need._

"_Soon my love." he soothed. A kiss to her collarbone. "Then there's your neck, always decorated with something sparkly, always holding your head so high, such a pleasure to kiss, to drive you wild." And he descended his lips to flutter affection to her throat, knowing how it drove her insane._

"_Oh Oliver, please." she mewled, fisting the sheets beneath her._

"_Or maybe your lips. They tease me so much. The way you bite them, the way you run that temptress tongue over them when you know I'm looking. So sensitive, so tender, so… loving." His lips pressed ever so soft to hers, barely taking her breath before retreating. "But your eyes. They see so much I don't. They speak of the hurt you've felt, but they mask it so easily too. Such skilful eyes."_

"_I don't care about my eyes. Oliver, please!"_

"_Hush my love. Your eyes are magnificent." His hand brushed her hair from her features again, the look he gave was sheer love._

"_Oliver." she tried again. "You can tell me everything you like later, but, please. I need you."_

"_If you need me, then I suppose I should skip right to the end. I have two other contenders that I find compellingly loveable." he began again, this time his eyes showed lust though. "Your nipples Chloe." Her stomach tightened at the mere word. "So responsive to even the lightest of touches." To prove his point he blew across the peaked buds and her head dropped back, her eyes fluttering closed. His lips followed his breath, sucking at one nipple while his fingers rolled the other. _

_Her moans coated the walls of the room, the sounds crying for him to continue. To finish. "Patience." he reprimanded softly, pulling from her breasts and sliding his hands further down her body. "We haven't even spoken about the last thing I love." Her eyes lifted, begging him for what she needed._

"_Oliver."_

"_I'll make you feel better." he swore, his hands slipping between her open thighs, finding her wet and wanting. "Always ready for me." The words parted the air for a mere second before he traced the pool of wetness to its source. His finger dove in, easily finding her g-spot and teasing it like he intended to drive her past sanity. Her back arched from the bed, her fists clenched the sheets again, the cries of pleasure calling for more. Oliver slipped another finger into her heat, circling her nerves in a way he knew would stir her tension higher and higher, until she thought she would explode. Everything in her body tensed, soon. So soon. And he gave into her mercifully, ducking his head and sucking on her throbbing clit. She came instantly, calling out his name. His grin was powerful. Her body a shimmer of sweat and pleasure. _

_He withdrew his fingers to slip them into his mouth, tasting her sweetness and savouring the taste. "That's just the start." And the promise held an air of danger she couldn't help but love. "Should I finish naming the thing I adore now?" he questioned with humour._

"_Oliver!" She swatted her hand at him, her impatience to have him overflowing. "I need you!" His smirk earned him another slap, and exasperated cry of his name. "Oliver!" _

Oliver woke suddenly, his heart racing, his hands amiss of her body, his thoughts swimming the leftover cloud of the dream, desperate for it to remain. He pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes tight in an effort to absorb the remnants of his dream again, but the throb of his erection was becoming harder to ignore. She was breaking through his defences. He doubted he would be able to keep his hands from her now.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Poor Ollie. :(<p>

Poor me too. I haven't been writing for an entire week in an attempt to fix my head. You have no idea of the withdrawals I'm suffering!  
>But, when I finally sit down again, I shall be unstoppable!<br>Xx


	22. Distractions

Glad you're all liking this, I do LOVE hearing back from you. *hint hint nudge nudge wink wink*

Regarding Lex's POV, you'll get a glimpse into his mind soon, but not right now. Soooooooon.

This is a filler chapter, no explosions, no partying, no crazy monkey sex. You have been warned.

**Previously; **Chloe took some work behind Lex's back to get a secret reserve of money (in case of emergency). Oliver turned up to play some poker and they had a clash of eyes. Mr Queen starts asking too many questions and dear Chloe has to bail him out of trouble with her hard earned money.  
>Oh, and Oliver had sexy dream about Miss Chloe. Who doesn't love steamy dreams? ;)<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty Two; Distractions<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>All your life you've had a tendency to let the damsel lead you straight into the mouth of the dragon.'<em>- Lionel Luthor (Season Four, Episode Commencement)

* * *

><p>Chloe woke early, despite the late hours and got straight to work on her plans. First, the last third of that list, then she could take the rest of the day off. But as she landed in the lobby, she was met by a female from behind the desk.<p>

"Miss Maine."

"Hey." Chloe just answered, waiting for the rest of the call to be addressed.

"There's a package for you. And, a few other things." Oh Oliver.

"What few other things?"

"There's some accessories in a bag, and some tulips too." Her eyes drifted past the woman to the desk where red tulips stood in a vase of water, a label hanging from them. Did he know they were her favourite flower? "Ummm, there's also a bag from Donna's bakery." Chloe's stomach purred at the name.  
>"Who are they from?" But she knew the answer.<p>

"A man came by this morning to drop them off. He didn't leave him name, just wrote 'Prince Charming' on the card." Chloe laughed.

"Alright. I'll take the food now. Would you take the rest to my room?" The woman nodded and headed back behind the desk, handing over the bag.

Hmm, still warm. How long had she missed him by?

With a nod of thanks, she took the backseat of her driver's car and dialled Queen's mobile.

It seemed that his business meeting must be happening as she was forwarded straight to voicemail.

"Thank you." she began with, ignoring the awkwardness she always felt when thanking people. "The tulips are significantly better than the roses." Her eyes followed the traffic while she spoke, the driver neatly pulling out into the flowing river of cars. She found her reflection smiling at her. The man charmed her something terrible. "The food is always welcome, and smells delicious." she spoke her thoughts aloud, opening the bag to find a blueberry muffin, raspberry muffin, a white chocolate chip cookie and chocolate cake. "But you only score a 9. I don't like blueberry." she explained and closed the bag, making a mental note to donate the blueberry to the driver before she took a mistaken bite. "But it's very sweet." she praised. "I presume the package is the costume, so I'll try it on later." After all, tomorrow was the big night. Her fingers dipped back into the bag again. Skipping breakfast was a bad idea, her stomach agreed and took over her hand's control, lifting the cookie from its place. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" Her tongue dipped out, licking her lips. But her mind remembered the 'gift' Queen would be accepting sometime soon, and the playful edge consumed her again. "Have a good business meet sweetie. Can't wait to see you." she purred and finished the voicemail. A sinful bite later and she was ready to personally stop by Queen Industries to thank her suitor.

* * *

><p>There were many things Oliver dealt with on a daily basis.<p>

This was not one of them.

It was certainly not what he was expecting to walk into after finishing his meeting. He had plans to finish early and take a nap. Maybe drop by and see Chloe. But this threw him a little.

"It was where?" he asked, flashing a look over to Clark who stood by the window.

"Delivered to your door Mr Queen." His secretary answered between blushes and the start of a stutter. He knew he made her nervous, but she did work faster than anyone else he'd previously hired. He supposed it helped that she was already happily married and not tripping over her own feet trying to seduce him like the last 'assistant'.

"No name? No return address?"

"N-no sir. It was there when I arrived back from lunch. I had security check it over immediately."

"Good." But he met Clark's eyes again, asking for a double check.

"Open it Oliver. It seems fine." Clark offered, finding nothing out of the ordinary.

Oliver pulled out the letter opener from the desk draw and sliced it down the masking tape that covered the box. Slowly and cautiously he opened the flaps.

"Are you sure this was addressed to me?" he asked the secretary again. She changed weight on her feet and nodded swiftly.

Clark stood over his shoulder, looking down curiously at the boxed cake with '_Happy Birthday Oliver_' across it in blue icing and swirling font.

"You didn't say it was your birthday." Clark muttered, feeling guilty already for forgetting.

"It's your birthday, sir. Oh, happy birthday." The secretary tried to find something to be doing that wasn't forgetting her boss's birthday.

"No. It's no- it's not my birthday."

"Oh…" Feeling more out of place she changed weight again. "Will there be anything else sir?" she asked, desperately wanting to leave.

"No. Thank you." Still perplexed by the package on his desk he didn't even notice the small footsteps as she left.

"Any idea who would send you this?" Clark asked.

"Not really." He was still puzzled over why…

"Stalker?"

"Possibly."

"What about the girlfriend? You said she worked with Lex."

"Not really her style… besides, I haven't pissed her off recently." he stated "I don't think…"

"Why 'Happy Birthday' though?"

"Your guess is as good as anyone's."

"Long lost relative with memory problems?"

"There's no card." he noted. "Probably nothing Clark. Being a powerful man brings the occasional lunatic to your door."

Clark met Oliver's eyes with concern. Oliver just shrugged it off. He'd get someone to look into it, but otherwise he'd push it to the back of his mind. Besides, he'd dealt with a lot worse.

* * *

><p>Chloe grinned down at her phone, an email confirmation send through from her gift. Poor Queen would be having a security field day. His security might trace it back the bakery if they have any brain cells, but the card transaction and email address would both be gone in the wind, deleted by the magic of her software.<p>

She lifted her eyes back to her last meeting on the list and shook his hand in farewell. Not Arrow though. There wasn't the banter, there wasn't the nerves of being found out. So, it wasn't any of the trainers she'd interviewed today. But she had their memberships to go through. Besides that, she was done for the day, but she wasn't feeling hopeful. She'd pretty much convinced herself it was a waste of her time, Arrow trained outside of martial arts centres. Vordigan was still her biggest clue towards his secrets. She vaguely wondered if Vordigan had taught him everything; fighting, archery and even costume making. She stifled the giggle of the image of the big bad Arrow trying to sew his own outfit.

Or… the thought came to her that perhaps he wasn't as local as she thought. All reports were in metropolis area, but if he had learnt his skills outside of the city, or state, or… country –she gulped, not wanting to run through **that** list- he could just upkeep his talents in the comfort of his own room. Which still left her exactly where she was: square one.

Chloe's smile was gone as she took her seat in the driven car back to the penthouse.

Archery was her last chance, but her hope was dying there as well. If he was careful enough to evade any paper trail so far, she doubted he'd slip up now. The only thing motivating her to search through the information about the martial arts centres and look into the archery ranges was Lex. Lex would want to see results, a thorough search of her possibilities. And for Lex she would press on. He was her motivation right now and she really needed it. She should probably pay him a visit Friday, after she'd spent the night with Queen.

Chloe leaned back against the seats. How screwed up was it that Queen was her silver lining? She was actually looking forward to seeing him. Cursed man was like an infection now, he pretty much had total control over her now. Chloe let her head drop back, no willpower remaining to hold it up anymore, her eyelids closed and she shut out the world. She felt her body move with the car over the potholes of lower metropolis but otherwise she just felt stuck. Queen had gotten under her skin, and god she wasn't even trying to scratch him out.

She liked him. She _liked_ him for God's sake.

Bet Lex never saw that coming. But she couldn't tell him, Lex should _never_ know.

"Miss. You alright?" Chloe opened her eyes to the driver's concerned voice. He was one of the nicer drivers. He didn't ignore her like some others. He wasn't overly chatty and he understood space. She pulled out a smile for him.

"Just tired." she breathed. "I'm fine. Thank you." Her words flowed calm and serene. The driver passed her a nod with a happy curve to his lips and kept driving.

She turned her attention to the window, watching to roads and buildings fill her vision then fade away, swallowed by the city life. When she got back into the penthouse she'd take a nap, she decided. Maybe just close her eyes on the sofa for a few minutes. Regain her motivation.

And that was her plan all the way up the elevator, but as soon as the door opened she remember the mess of flowers and gifts awaiting her. So much for a nap.

Chloe took things one at a time.

One; coat off.

Two; shoes off

Three; laptop on and start data sync with her phone

Four; background music

Five; flowers.

As Chloe turned to the array of blossoms in her kitchen she slowed her pace. The tulips were breath-taking, the colours twisted with a candy coating, the vase crammed to the brim with more shades of reds and pinks than a valentine's parade. And she loved it. Ignoring everything else, she took the vase of tulips to the living room, placing them at the centre of the room next to the cream sofa. They reminded her of strawberries and cream as she stepped back to take in the view. With approval, she turned back to the kitchen, but the absence of tulips highlighted the box laying across the counter taking up more space than coffee maker.

It was heavier than she'd imagined; that was Chloe's first thought as she took hold of the package. Maybe she was too used to buying things for cheaper prices, or maybe she'd just learned to pack light, but as she collected the box she didn't expect it to have any weight at all.

Still, she took the gift from the kitchen and to the round table of the living room. But then she stood, transfixed.

Did the giddy feeling inside her have to be so dominant? Was she really going to pass out from excitement like she felt?

Wait, when was her last coffee?

She rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen. Of course she was having troubles focussing, she was caffeine depleted. She'd only had the cup this morning, and that was _hours_ ago.

But her fingers tapped impatiently as the coffee poured, she didn't have the patience to wait for it to cool and dared a burning sip from the first second she had with the mug. The taste burned at her tongue, but she swallowed and curled her fingers around the warm life-giving mug. She knew what was on her mind… the package. As much as she wanted to deny it, it felt like Christmas again. It had been years since she'd last enjoyed Christmas, but all she could think of with that package was the feeling on Christmas Eve as her Dad had to put her back to bed several times while she tried to persuade him with logic as to why she should be able to open her presents now.

And Chloe came back to the present, face to face with the parcel current teasing her. There is sat, ominous and silent while she took the coffee mug back to her lips.

She'd given Oliver one word: Greek.

There were plenty of outfits under the costume heading of Greek. All seemed seductive, rich and beautiful for the women, but the men, they were so primal, assertive and overflowing with an untapped source of raw energy. It was her way of securing _her_ outfit to remain modest, and securing her plan to bed Oliver by the end of the night. It was the only option, it had come to a point where she could think of little else but him. She went to sleep and the last image behind her eyes was him, she woke up and her first thought was him. It was becoming insanity.

But she'd been going at this the entire wrong way. Men like Queen with a past of bed mates longer than her list of criminal offences had developed past impulse… clearly. So, acting on his desires as a male wouldn't be enough, he'd satisfied them too many times. But, as he insisted, romance was the key. She'd simply have to play along, and when he lowered that shield enough she'd be able to clear him from her mind and get on with the job at hand. So, while she could remain modest and wrapped up for his love bubble, he would be less so, and she didn't find any problem with that at all. A man with a body like Oliver's was made for women to be attracted to, and if he happened to be half naked in a room full of women, and if he happened to desire bedding one, she would be right there.

It wasn't airtight, but it was a plan.

And thus it came back to the box. Whatever he had chosen was sitting on her table innocently hidden in the pale blue cardboard, wrapped in black satin ribbon waiting for someone to unveil it. It even had accessories, she recalled, thinking of the bag by the door she'd left behind.

She crossed her arms over her chest trying to puzzle through the package before opening it. There wasn't a lot of choice for Oliver regarding her costume really. Either way it was going to be some sort of toga or robe. Probably white. Maybe some red covering over it. Gold dashed in places.

Why did she agree to let him choose anyway? she mused.

Damn it, just open it, she hissed to herself and approached the box. Her hands tugged the ribbons easily, letting them fall away and lifting the pale blue lid. White tissue paper guarded the costume, the final layer of covering. She was quick moving it aside, her fingers diving for a more precious treasure, and as fingers touched she couldn't stop the fascination as she lifted it from the nest.

Flowing ivory cascaded down before her, tucked at the bust, pleats of cream and white spilling over the main silken material. It was beautiful. It had material pouring from every inch of it in a tasteful elegance. It would make her in every essence; a true Queen.

Her bare feet felt the ghost of material over them, the associated wrap he'd included falling from its previous home slung over the dress. He thought of everything it seemed.

And there was that tug on her heart strings again, and she let it happen, she let it take over for those few minutes. She felt the warm sting of butterflies in her stomach and her lips curved to an unconscious smile. For the first time, in a long, long time, she felt… happy.

Chloe spent the next few minutes in costume, turning before the mirror, fiddling with the multitude of accessories Queen had purchased. And when she said accessories, she didn't mean cheap plastic bracelets from the party shop. No, there was a tiffany box with ear-rings and matching necklace in. Cartier gold bracelets and anklets. That was the kind of grade to think when she fished through the entire bag full. And it _was_ full. Even a new clutch sat in the bottom besides the nail polish and make-up.

Yes, Queen had bought her nail polish and make-up. She didn't know whether to gape at it like she currently was doing, or to laugh like her insides were. Had he bought these without a clue of the female mind, or had he sent an assistant to get one of everything?

But as she rolled her eyes to the reflection that sparkled with elegance and poise, her thoughts strayed to his own costume. Just what would Oliver be wearing?

* * *

><p>Dress-up time finished, the outfit fitting perfectly as she thought it would. Granted, the dress was a tad long as she stood barefoot, but that would be sorted on the day. Especially since Queen thought to include her heels. Though, she did like them, a <em>lot<em>. But work called and she changed back to normal Chloe wear and sat before her laptop for the next few hours.

She half expected Arrow to drop by and tell her she was going along the wrong track, but he was clearly busy, all she had from the outside world was a text from Queen responding to her voicemail. She took a shower to break up her work, ordered some Chinese to satisfy the hunger and finished her Arrow search around 5pm.

She leant back in the chair, as predicted, no hits from the martial arts centres. The man was truly a mystery.

The only thing she _knew_ was that he was not Lex, and he was not Queen, since she'd seen them both in the same room at the same time. Which just left… every other male in metropolis. Chloe crashed her head to her hands, her fingers splaying in her hair then moving gently to massage her brain into thinking again.

The archery was her last resort…

Then she'd have to start digging further into Vordigan. If she could find out how Vordigan learned… maybe the master taught the apprentice his same ways. The only people with more Vordigan knowledge than herself or the internet would be reporters. Reporters hear rumours, they file them away and decided whether to use them or not. There was probably a big juicy file on Vordigan in the databank of whatever server the papers were using. Actually… there could be rumours on Arrow too.

Then again, there could be nothing more than what she already knew.

Chloe closed the laptop, already making plans to start with the archery ranges first. She wasn't looking forward to the security on newsroom computers.

She rolled her head around slowly, feeling the pops of tension releasing with a satisfying sound. A film, she decided on the spot.  
>And that was how she ended up on the sofa, drifting off the sleep under a blanket while the matrix trilogy played on. Just as she felt herself nodding off through the second film, the phone vibrated, a text alert through.<p>

Chloe grumbled, wanting to choose sleep instead, but she blindly patted across the table, reaching for the closest phone. Client phone. She pulled it before her eyes, no message. She dropped it in her lap and reached back against for the other one. Personal phone had a message for her, from Queen. She smiled and pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to wake herself up.

'_I miss you. What are you doing?'_

Chloe laughed softly, sinking back down into the warmth of the blanket.

'_Lying on the sofa watching a film. You?'_

The weight on her eyelids vanished and she turned her head back to the screen. She'd seen the matrix a lot of times, she'd wished she could slip into the 'real' world away from Lex. But it was not meant to be. No little red pill for her.

'_Reviewing finance reports :( Any chance you need me to rush over to save you from the loneliness you feel without me?'_

Chloe laughed aloud again.

'_And deprive your finance reports?!'_

She text back in jest, not at all envying Queen's night. She might not be having a rager herself but anything was better than paperwork.

'_Cruel woman. I'll bring coffee?'_

Her grin tugged at her cheeks.

'_You'll see me tomorrow. And yes, I advise you do bring coffee ;)'_

'_I bet I could lure you into anything with coffee.'  
><em>  
>And in honesty, it was probably be true. If she had to be tortured for information, it would be the caffeine withdrawal that would crack her before the pain did most probably. It wasn't her fault, everyone had something of an addiction. Queen was clearly work obsessed, it was past 7pm and he was still working.<p>

'_Possible. What's your weakness? Everyone's got one.'_

Would he admit to his work addiction? Though it was hardly something that could be exploited for her benefit.

'_You would use that power for evil, I'm afraid I can't tell you.'_

'_Trust me, what I have planned is far from evil ;)' _she replied with a smirk on her lips.

'_Planned? Should I be scared?'_

'_Very'_

She grinned, feeling the ache of tiredness pull at her again. She shuffled on the sofa, trying to find the energy to get back into the film. It was near to finishing the second film anyway. Maybe an early night would be good…

Then again, she'd always sleep better if there was a man tiring her out. Shame about Queen's rule really… he'd have been on his way here already if not for that damn third date rule.

An evil thought tugged at her and she eagerly followed it. Her hands tugged at the blanket, wrapping it around her like a large cape. She snatched the zapper, turning off the movie and immersing the room in the sole light of the half moon. One hand on the blanket, the other on the mobiles she padded barefoot into the bedroom and pulled open the top draw of the dresser.

Her shopping trip had given her excuse to indulge in new lingerie. Lingerie that fit her like a second skin, ones that matched top and bottom, ones that flattered her in ways men could only dream of, ones that didn't pinch or tug or nip, ones that cost Lex a pretty penny.

Her hand ghosted across the colours. The dress was white, the underwear would have to match. Sadly white wasn't her greatest colour selection, a lot of the garments in the shop in any shade of white looked like they were to be worn by brides, and she wanted nothing to do with them, so she'd gone for other colours as a priority. Colours like the dark red to the far left, black lace nestled between the light blue and purple silk sets and a deep emerald green on the far right. Needless to say one had been bought with Arrow in mind. She traced the materials, selecting the sole white set from the drawer.  
>Detachable straps, cleavage enhancing, balconette and beautiful. The matching bottoms lay nestled in the cups, keeping the pair together. Chloe lifted it out. Tasteful brazillian cut of white satin with lace trim and soft cream bows to match the bra. She grinned, imagining the look on Queen's face when he saw the set against her creamy skin. He'd be powerless.<p>

She realised she'd not yet read the text that he'd sent back and swapped the underwear for the phone.

'_What exactly do you have planned for me?'_

Chloe grinned, her eyes on the planning in question.

'_Nothing you won't like. But I'm curious, you've been to more of these functions than me, what kind of lingerie does a girl wear to these?'_

That was less of a hint than a great big whack in the face with a placard but she liked the thought of him having her underwear on his mind.

'_I think I'm safer not answering this and concentrating on my work.'_

As much as she wanted to call him a coward she typed out the reply that was sure to finish those financial reports.

'_But how will I decide without your help? Suppose I could always not wear any underwear… that solves my problem.'_

She hit send and looked up into the mirror, the playful eyes obvious to her now she could see them herself. She looked powerful and in control and it brought the energy back to her depleted body.

'_You shouldn't be putting things like this into my head'_

But the warning was a playground for her.

'_Oh dear, are you getting sexually frustrated? Should I tell you what I do when I feel like that? Maybe it will help ;)'_

'_Help is not the word that comes to mind. You should go to bed soon, tomorrow I'm paying you back for this.'_

Chloe laughed, but agreed with the idea. She was feeling the tug of sleep again.

'_And I'm paying you back for date one. I wonder who will cave first.'_

'_Sweet dreams Chloe. Dream of me. Xxx'_

Chloe smiled, putting the phones by the bedside table and slipping into the duvet without bothering to ditch the blanket, it was already warm, unlike her bed. It didn't take long before she was claimed by the sandman. The late night and early rise this morning seemed to be insanity as she lay there and let another yawn rip from her.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Filler chapter, as I said at the start. Next chapter is the date.<p>

Question to my readers; who do _you_ think will cave first?

(Moving into the new student accommodation this weekend, I won't have internet up and running until midweek, so the next post might not be until around the 20th Sept. Depending on how progress goes I might post up the next chapter early (before I enter the new house) so you have it for the week. We'll see.)

Review if you feel it, reviews make writers happy. Happy writers are statistically proven to be happier than non-happy writers. (*sigh* my humour sucks when my head hurts- apologies)  
>Xx<p> 


	23. Hiding

Reviews make this writer very happy indeed. Since I'm entering a zero internet zone tomorrow/today (Wish me luck), I figured I'd post now. But, hopefully, next monday posting should resume as usual. If not, I'm having internet issues, so please be patient. However painful no internet is, it means I can crank up my iTunes and crack out more chapters without being distracted.

Yes, I did hear Lee Thompson Young (Actor that played Cyborg) took his own life. It makes me so sad. I still see adverts for Rizzoli and Isles which he's in and I just get this wave of 'why?'. But, Cyborg in this story shall live on! And he will forever on DVD and in our memories.

The birthday cake thing, that was just Chloe messing with his mind. No real reason why, just thought... heh, would be wierd if you got a strange birthday cake one random day... and well, it got into my writing. (Be thankful I have a censor on my fingers otherwise you would have been getting all sorts of strange things, haha). But yeah, her way of keeping Ollie busy :)

**Previously;** Chloe got her dress. Ollie got a mystery cake. Chloe and Oliver had a cute texting session and now, all he can think about is her underwear. Jesus Ollie, mind out of the gutter! (No, I don't care if Chloe put it there!)

**Now; **Remember that second date you were all looking forwards to. Well, hey presto, ask and you shall recieve. Plus, are you ready to see some emotions? ;)

Chapter Twenty-Three; Hiding

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><p>"<em>It's obviously true what they say; behind every great man is a great woman<em>." – Lionel Luthor (Season Five, Episode Fanatic)

* * *

><p>Oliver stood in his usual business attire outside the entrance to Gold Tower. The BMW against his back. His meeting had not only run over time, but given his temper a good run for its money too. He was a man with a schedule, and this had thrown a spanner in the delicate works, threatening to blow up in his face and destroy his evening with Chloe. But he could make this work.<p>

His eyes locked on the elevator as soon as the doors parted for her. His impatience and anger vanished.

Beautiful.

He'd had a vision of the complete outfit, but she wore it better than his head could ever make her. She held an air of sophistication about her, a way with power he couldn't put his finger on. But she'd changed from the girl days ago, she had softened. There was no thunder in her heeled steps, just… emotion. Real emotion.

Chloe stepped from the elevator, fishing for her phone in the damn gold clutch she carried, unaware of the male eyes on her; the heated gaze of Oliver as he ran his eyes up her form.

The gold heels were something Dinah had inspired, thought he hated to admit. She'd walked in on his half of the research and told him she'd once seen the golden gladiator heels on a catwalk and she'd been jealous ever since. Chloe was a thousand times more real than a supermodel but she wore the heels like she'd been born for the camera. The gold snaked from her ankles to wrap up her legs, he could just see the top of it on her left leg as the dress moved with her walk, the slit teasing him with the slightest vision of her creamy thigh. And then, with a second it was swallow in the dress again, the white pleats covering the dream like the veil of clouds. Gold hemmed the dress, accentuating the wrap she'd draped over her shoulders and bled into the design with small details of artistic flowers. She was an angelic vision in the white. Her hair styled into light curls that bounced on her chest as she dug into the bag again.

The gold bangles clattered audibly as he crept closer, drawn to his goddess and queen. He heard the muttered curses, then praise as she finally fished out a phone that was vibrating, without spilling the bags contents. She declined the call though and turned back only to come face to face with him. Her grin then faltered, taking him in.  
>"Cancelled?" Was her first question.<p>

"You look stunning." Her eyes were made to draw him into submission, black eyeliner highlighting the gold eye shadow and green in her eyes. She looked sublime, so much of a Queen.

"I wished I could say the same, what happened?" He knew what she was concerned about, the healing lip and cut just under his hairline. Chloe felt bad for asking, but her cover demanded it.

"It's nothing. Just an unhappy poker player looking for his money back." he lied smoothly. She let it drop easily, the other concern taking over.

"If this is meant to be your pair to this costume. We may have a problem." But she had the tips of her smile pushing at her cheeks, she couldn't hide the feel good rush she'd been harbouring all morning that had suddenly burst free at the sight of him.

"Work." he sighed.

"And that is not the sexy car I was promised a drive in." This time, she scowled. They had a deal. "Talk or I'm going back to my bubble bath." she threatened, the phone waving in her hand as she jabbed a gold painted finger nails towards him.

"There was a crisis. It's been averted." he started. "I just need to go home, shower and dress and then we can start our night." he pleaded.

"Alright." He blinked at the ease of her agreement, stunned.

"Alright?"

"I guess we'll try again once prince charming finds his tights then." She laughed and made to go back to her apartment. His arm stopped her.

"Sorry Goldilocks, we're on a timer. You're going to have to be stashed with the tv and coffee." She laughed, but accepted the steer of his hand and guidance to the car. Goldilocks? No, she was just going insane. Like she had stated before, Oliver was not the Green Arrow. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look?" he asked, reaching the passenger door first and opening it for her. However, she didn't step in. Instead, she grinned and rounded to the driver's side. "You're not driving." he stated.

"I can drive faster than you, and as you said, we're on a timer." Her smile grew. Even dressed in white, looking like she'd stepped from heaven, she could still play a demon for him.

"No offence to the female gender, but I don't believe you. So that's a no." he smirked. "Get in the car."

"We had a deal." she recalled.

"Not for this car." he reminded her.

With an over the top sigh, she turned and leant against the car, looking at her nails.

"Got all the time in the world." she teased.

"You're lucky I like you." he joked and as she turned back with a victorious smile he chucked the keys, taking the passenger seat regretfully.

He watched almost pained as she adjusted the seat and mirror for her height and with nothing more than the purr of the engine as his signal, she floored the gas, tearing out of the parking spot into a parting of traffic he wouldn't have dreamed of sliding into.

His heart was battering the cage of his ribs, hoping it could gain freedom from this inevitable death.

"Faster. Is not necessarily safer." he huffed out, his hand tight on the door handle.

"You see. This is why rich people don't drive their cars like they're meant to be driven." she stated calmly, tugging the wheel tight to make the corner at her speed. She made it, while talking. Damn woman. "They're too concerned with preserving them. Keeping the colour coating new, saving them in their garage so they won't get touched by rain." She flashed him a smile, her eyes taken from the road. "And this is why I know I can pull out in front of certain shiny cars, because they _will _stop, and this is why I'm a faster driver than you."

"You're not driving tonight." he stated.

"You promised." And she had the damn audacity to pout.

"We may not even live that long." he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose to calm the protective urge over both his car and his life. Hers too, since she didn't seem to give a damn.

"We'll live." she promised. The undeserving always lived; she being the most undeserving of peace through death. While she was next to him, he'd be as healthy as he could be. "But you're not breaking a promise." Oliver kept quiet. "Besides, I _can_ drive like a 'normal' citizen. But considering the rush, and the fact you're not even dressed yet, I think this is more appropriate." she continued.

Oliver had to admit, she'd definitely driven faster than he ever had. His heart was pumping a mile a minute and he was amazed they hadn't hit any police, speed cameras… or pedestrians. But boy, was he glad to get out of the car.

Chloe smiled, her dress billowing around her legs in the light wind. She took her steps towards his side, placing the keys in his hand with a whisper of thanks.

He followed her to the elevator and kept his eyes on her the entire ride, but as she stepped into his apartment, he acted.

"How about a deal?" He'd clearly been thinking it over the ride up.

"I already have all I want from you… for now." she purred. He caught her hand, spinning her back to him. He held her close.

"Name anything you want, but you're not driving."

"Anything I want?" And her smile grew. Had she played him?

Many things rolled through her head, but nothing seemed to stick. She could ask for something to scratch the sexual itch, but… she didn't want just that from him anymore. She could ask him to promise to buy the company this work was all for. She could ask to watch him shower. She stifled a giggle.

"Within limits." he added at her laugh.

She could crack this love thing he had going. She really didn't understand that, what was going on in that man's mind?! And with that she found her promise.

"Unfettered access to your mind, all night. I ask a question about you, no matter how personal, and you give me an honest answer." Oliver was surprised. He'd expected something sexual from her, but here she was wanting answers to questions. He had nothing to hide, the media ensured his life was open to the public.

Except Green Arrow, he had no problem with any aspect of questioning she could throw at him. Yes, there were parts of his life he wasn't too proud of, but the tabloids had taught him to address his shame head on and embrace the good _and_ the bad.

"That's it?" he asked, still unbelieving of her words.

"That's it." And her eyes looked up to him like he was her saviour from days of darkness.

"As much as I'd love to say yes and carry on… I'd answer anything you want to know regardless of a promise Chloe."

"Well you better shake my hand and make a deal with me before I insist upon driving then." And she clasped his hand in a handshake.

"Alright, deal." he answered, feeling sceptical. But yet also strangely proud.

"Timers ticking." She reminded him with a smile, reaching to kiss his lips quickly and head to the kitchen.

"Right. You know where the coffee is, and tv… and... yeah." he breathed as she waved him off without a care and started the coffee maker. He grinned. She was perfect.

Chloe stood by the coffee maker, listening to the footsteps head away. Her hand went to the bag, unfastening the clasp and waiting by the doorway for the sound of water to the shower. She took the picklocking tools from the bag, one of the main reasons it was so cramped today and sped to his office at the first sound of water.

No cameras in Queen's apartment, unless he had one in his bedroom for his conquests. She grinned at the thought, kneeling by the office door. But Queen had staff in and out all day, his office would be the one place they were restricted from, the one place he kept his dirty secrets.

It wasn't quite a new record, but she broke in quickly. The office was nicely sized, the desk covered with papers he was currently working on. She scurried over, her ears still trained on the water. If only he was female he'd have more time, but no, the damn man would only need minutes to shower. And as soon as that sound went off she'd have to be out and relocking the damn door before he caught her.

Planning permission.

Those were the first words she read from the papers.

Was Queen planning a build?

No, they weren't addressed to him.

They were Lex's!

He had Lex's plans.

But… she'd never seen these.

Chloe pulled out her phone, snapping a photo of every file on the desk, trying not to read them yet. What the hell was Queen doing?!

Her head clicked up, no water.

Damn man!

She finished her photos within the next 15 seconds, and left everything as she found it, her heels un-needingly loud across the wood of his office as she hurried out and knelt back by the closed door, resetting the lock. She hated locking doors with picklocks. It wasn't half as easy as opening them, but usually twice as important to get right. She huffed, running her hair through with her fingers then re-focussing.

Com'on Chlo, her brain chanted, aware of the invisible timer hovering over her.

Finally it locked, her hand testing the handle to make sure and she took herself back to the kitchen, her heart thumping from her mission and ready for coffee.

Chloe poured herself coffee as she usually liked it and paced back to the living room, ready for Queen at any moment to come out. But the second kept ticking. She decided to channel surf, draining the cup as she did. Coffee never lasted very long around her when she was nervous. The longer he took, the more nervous she got.

Finally, she heard a door open and steps across the hall. She lounged back, forcing herself into a relaxed posture, as calm looking as she could muster.

"My Queen." He greeted her with a bow and her grin grew enough to hurt her cheeks. He looked better than she could have predicted.

"That is…" Her cheeks felt like they'd rip apart with the sheer happiness of the grin. "Oh, just wow. That's… just wow." she laughed.

"What?" he shot back at her, playing along. "Does it make my bum look big?" he turned and Chloe just couldn't help but laugh.

"You look fantastic." she praised, crossing the room to inspect him closer.

The stubble previous aging him was gone, the scent of aftershave dizzying her with the need to touch him. She caved, taking his face in her gentle hands, running a thumb across the soft cleanly shaven jawline. "I like." she complimented. He smelled amazing. Musky, rich and yet… he smelled like freedom, like running naked through the woods or speeding along a country lane with the top down. "My warrior." she praised and stepped back to take in the view again.

A deep red cloak, hemmed with gold hung from his right shoulder, draped across his naked chest and then flowed into the cape hanging from his back. She traced her finger over the gold broach pinning the material, a lion's head with intricate detail shaped under her finger. She took her hands down his chest, a solid and beautiful chest, roped with thick cords of muscles. Muscles she had not imagined to be touching yet. The tips of her fingers grazed the left nipple in her journey, she locked her eyes with his as it did, seeing them darkened.

He liked her hands on him.

He was stirring, the sleeping beast once again woke before her command. With a smile, she dropped her hands further, running along the dark brown leather of the 'skirt' he wore.

Golden leaves were woven into the band, a sheath hung over his right side, by his hip. She rolled her fingers over the handle, unsheathing the blade. It was a good replica, looked sharp, looked deadly, but the lack of weight was a dead give-away for it not being real. She fit the blade back its position and lifted the shield and left arm for further inspection. There the tiger was again, face in the middle of the shield, shining in gold, teeth bared and vicious. Studs of gold spun around the image and pinned to the outsides of the shield.

If it wasn't for the fact he was wearing a skirt and carrying a fake dagger she'd call him deadly.

He definitely _looked _like a fighter though, healing bruises from his 'poker match' were shining out from hip, thigh and leg, all his left side. Chloe would put money that the cloak was covering his left shoulder to hide another nastier bruise. She'd seen nothing more than him being thrown around in that back room, his left side slammed into walls and floors. The man must ache something terrible.

She rose her gaze to his once again, his smirk present from knowing she approved.

"I feel we should be a twisted love affair." she commented, drawing his laugher. "The soldier who fell for his queen."

"Or the bodyguard who was used for the Queen's sexual pleasure." His grin reached his eyes, and she felt her own smile reply.

"He never did say no." she commented. "Kept coming back each night."

"He didn't have a choice, she _was_ his Queen."

"I suppose it's a good job the King doesn't know."

"Who knows? Maybe he hired the guard to satisfy the sexual appetite of his wife." he suggested, sliding the shield onto his back, slipping the strap of leather over his right shoulder so he could bring Chloe closer into his arms.

"A good husband should never marry if he cannot keep up with his wife." she advised, allowing his arms around her.

"Then maybe he was using her to test the reliability of his guards."

"That would put you in _very_ hot water with the King then." She lifted her chin, knowing the feel for the kiss was mutual.

"It was entirely worth it to bed such a beauty." He dipped his head lower, high on the power of her emotions finally being free. Chloe rose on her tiptoes, the small heels not big enough for the man she was with, her lips to his ear.

"Then hurry up and bed me." she whispered and pulled away, leaving the un-tasted kiss linger between them. Oliver smirked, watching as her heels clicked across the wood floors and she recollected her coffee. She lowered herself back to the sofa in possibly the world's sexiest way. Her leg stretched out, crossed over the other, both shining a pale tan, exposed by the slit in the dress. The coffee rose to her lips as she laid back against the sofa.

"As much as I would love to keep you here all night." he started, crossing the room to her position, crossing his arms over his chest. "We have places to be, people to see." But she didn't move. "Am I going to have to throw you over my shoulder your majesty?" She laughed and tipped the coffee cup almost vertical, draining it quickly.

"First question," she began, reminding him of his promise. "Do you still see Lois?"

The question had Oliver stunned for two reasons. One; how did Lois come into this conversation? Two; why did Lois come into this conversation. He had a third 'how did she know it was Lois' but the papers had a field day about this. It wasn't unlikely she didn't do her research.

Chloe watched him reposition his stance and stroke his fingers down the stubble that no longer existed, probably out of habit. But he spoke.

"From time to time. I'm friends with the man she loves and we sometimes have dinner together."

Chloe was satisfied with every part of his answered but one.

"The man she loves?"

"An old friend. Clark." Chloe felt her blood cells chill over. Clark Kent? Surely not. But, she couldn't ask, if he even got a whiff she knew him, he might start asking even more questions. Clark friends with Oliver. No. But…

Lois in love with Clark…

What?

What had happened to the world while she left it?

Oliver's gaze turned worrying to her silence and she passed him the best smile she could create and stood, the dress falling back around her legs as she took his arm.

"Anything else?" he asked, guiding her to the elevator again and taking the keys from the bowl by the door.

"Not yet." And she flashed the smile again.

"Do I get to ask the motives behind the questioning?" he inquired stepping into the elevator and feeling her grip tighten slightly.

"Nope. You just get the pleasure of answering blindly and truthfully."

He held her closer through the ride, wondering just what reason she had for her questioning, and what other kinds of inquisition he would get tonight. His touch only left her as he drove. She was easy company, she was fun, alive and fascinating in all the right _and_ wrong ways.

As she re-joined his arm outside the steps to the Grand Manor Hall, he saw trouble in her eyes and she was loving it. Maybe he wasn't so wrong when he called her a demon, she certainly seemed to tick more than a few boxes.

"So what exactly does this event include?" she asked him as they walked the steps passing a Marie-Antoinette on her cellphone.

"Chitter chatter. A speech. Drinking. Snacking. Some fundraiser activities. And… dancing." He smirked at the last word.

"Dancing." she repeated. "There are other activities that allow you to get close to me you know."

"Oh, I know."

"Okay, here's an important question; why did you want to bring me here?" She followed him inside easily, nobody giving her a second glance.

"You're good company, you're beautiful. Y-"

"Full honesty." she reminded him, feeling the excessive compliments to be hiding the truth.

"I haven't lied yet." he chuckled and greeted the man to his left with a handshake, still refusing to let go of her next to him.

"How about the truth you're trying not to say then?" She smiled as he met another man with a grin and firm handshake. As he slipped them through the crowd of pirates and Vikings, he turned to her.

"Truthfully?" She nodded. "It's a good cause. I wanted to show my support, but I'm not a big fan of these events, as much as the papers may disagree. You're more than good enough company to keep my mind from the business I'll be forced to talk about all night and ensure I'm not murderous by the time I finally get back home." Chloe smiled.

"Happy to be your safety raft." she laughed. "But I hear alcohol also does the job very well." And she neatly lifted two champagne flutes from the passing waitress dressed in full black with a masquerade mask covering her features and great big feathers coming from it. She handed one to Queen. "To making it safely through the evening with sanity intact." she toasted. Oliver chuckled and accepted the glass, tipping it against hers with a happy clink.

"Oliver!" A booming cheerful voice came to the couple's ears and Oliver cut his sip short, calling his greeting back to the man who was quickly approaching dressed as Abraham Lincoln. Chloe covered her laugher and smiled to the large man that in no way fit the role.

"Philip. It's great to see you."

"Ah yes, and what a cause. I've been saying times are changing."

"Always." Oliver agreed, the smile on his lips genuine. "Chloe, this is Philip Jones, he's running for Mayor this year." And Chloe noted the first subtle difference between Oliver and Lex's style of business. Lex only ever introduced Chloe if she was required in the conversation. Oliver introduced without a need or reason. "Philip, this is the beautiful Chloe Maine who has kindly agreed to be on my arm tonight, and hopefully many other nights." Chloe felt the rush of warmth skid right back to her.

"Oh Darling. Charmed to meet you. If he gets too busy with business. Feel free to come and find my arm instead." With an elaborate sweep, Philip bowed before her, laying a kiss to the back of her hand.

Subtle difference number two; Oliver's associates were… 'nicer'. "Pleasure to meet you." Philip repeated. "But the wife calls. I'll find you later Oliver." And the big man bustled his way back through the crowd before either could get off a goodbye.

"He seemed… nice." Chloe spoke in the following seconds, watching the top hat fade from view.

"He's… friendly." Oliver offered in reply. "Eccentric. But friendly." With a chuckle, he turned to Chloe, urging her closer and into his one arm hold. "But he has a point." he accepted. "These events tend to get very 'shop talk' very easily."

"I'll poke you if I get bored. But I've been on Lex's arm enough to know how these work, so don't worry." she comforted him.

"Oliver!" Another call of his name interrupted his reply. A female with bouncing red curls crossed the room with a hatred in her eyes. The woman wore a red dress, egded with royal blue, dressed like a renaissance princess, a flowing royal blue cloak lifted behind her as she stormed over.

"I'm sorry." Oliver whispered to Chloe pre-emptively.

"Are you insane? Giving in to him like that?! Why not just crash the entire market while you're at it?!"

But Oliver smiled through the annoyance he felt.

"Mercy, it's nice to see you too." he replied. He leant in, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

"Could you have made more of mess of this?!" she snapped, but still accepted the friendly greeting as she hissed at him. Chloe pushed down the jealousy at the contact. They were clearly old friends.

"Chloe, meet Tess Mercer. Business partner and pain in my ass. Te-"

"You're Tess Mercer?" Chloe interrupted, shocking the redhead from her tirade. "You developed the solar tower structure." The admiration shone brightly. Lex had been pissed about that building, it had led to a rise in stocks of Queen industries that he was _not_ pleased with.

"This one has brains." Tess complimented, turning from Oliver to face Chloe. "Pleasure to meet a fan."

"You work with Oliver?" Chloe actually found she was enjoying this new meeting.

"Amongst some other idiotic big headed men who think they know what's best to sink a company." she sneered.

"Male egos are damaging. You have to keep them under control." Chloe offered with a laugh and drew a smile from Tess.

"Yes. Finally someone who understands." Oliver could not understand what was happening. He was almost sure these two women would clash violently, but Tess actually smiled. She _**smiled**_. "Where do you work?"

"I'm under Luthor employment actually." But instead of the expected back off and sneer, Tess put an arm around Chloe.

"Then we should talk."

"Mercy, this is hardl-" But Tess was walking away, leading a more than happy Chloe for a business chat. "Mercy!" he called, but Tess did nothing more than wave a hand over her shoulder at him. This was definitely something he hadn't factored into his night.

"Ah, Oliver. Philip said you'd arrived." Oliver could have groaned. Tess had stolen his life raft and was walking her away to her lair probably. Slowly, Oliver pulled on his happy face and turned to greet the next business man who called for his attention.

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><p>Chloe actually found she had enjoyed spending time with Tess. She was a business woman by all accounts, she liked control and she had a fight in her Chloe didn't expect. She had tried to pry into Luthor secrets, even to the point of getting annoyed at Chloe's ability to dodge answering. But above all, Tess could compliment what of herself she saw in Chloe. Chloe didn't mind Mercer either, she was nothing for the girl talk column, nothing on Lois, but she had filled a space of female company she didn't know had grown so big.<p>

Chloe stepped away whole as Tess was drawn into an argument with another board member and sauntered to the bar, picking up another champagne flute. Charlie Chaplin stood against the wall to her right, flirting with a Victorian lady, two Vikings were laughing in a manly fashion past them and to her immediate left sitting glum at a bar stool was a crusader knight. Chloe slipped herself onto the bar stool, scouting for the other half to her Grecian tryst.

"You came in with Queen." The crusader spoke, lifting his head to look at her.

"True." she offered, feeling happier than she had in a long while. The happiness filled her with a more positive outlook towards people and she turned in her seat to talk to the crusader who looked rather down. "You know Oliver?"

"I'd say. I worked with him for almost 10 years."

"A board member?" she guessed.

"No, no. Nothing like that. I was his head of security."

"Tough job." she decided to reply, rather than address the '_was'_.

The man chuckled.

"So, you're Queens tonight?" he asked instead.

"So it seems." she agreed. "Did you come with a crusader to keep yourself company?"

"Not tonight." he answered with a smug grin. "The wife had headache." he explained, but looked happier about it than he should. Ah, and she was in familiar territory after all. The cheating lying men of metropolis ladies and gents.

"My apologies." she sympathised. "I should find my warrior again I suppose." And she stood, feeling his eyes on her until she lost herself between the two Edwardian woman chatting about make-up purchases.

Chloe had no idea where to look for her warrior king. He was no longer shining out like a star in a suit, neither was he taller than average men (plus hat height) or easily able to locate by finding a shiny bald spot. Not to mention her height was working against her, especially with so many other tall women in much larger heels surrounding her.

Chloe found herself a wall to put to her back and rose onto her tiptoes, she heard a feminine giggle to her left and turned. Anne Boleyn smiled to her.

"Lost someone pet?" She was an old lady and came across friendly.

"Oliver Queen. Any chance you know which business man stole him?" The old woman laughed sweetly.

"The last time I saw him, he was being hounded by the south wall. About 10 minutes ago." She lifted her finger to show the way.

"Thank you." And Chloe took off, following the direction. It took her almost 10 minutes to cross the hall. And when she finally paused, she was no closer to locating him.

With a sigh, she stopped again and rose to her tiptoes, and there he was, only a few metres away to her right, three men surrounding him deep in conversation.

Chloe smiled and nudged her way closer, taking rest at the wall a metre away while he finished up with Henry VIII, King Tutankhamun and Caesar. Business men liked to play dress up with big names it seemed. Chloe let Oliver bathe in the business, as tortured as he looked. Finally, they broke away to the sound of tapping glass from the platform taking the centre of the hall. A woman dressed as Maid Marian was centre stage in a flowing pink gown.

"Welcome all, and thank you for coming to support this worthy cause." she began and Chloe parted through the nearby couple to offer herself as the answer to Oliver's scanning eyes. "Miss Lang apologises that she could not be here this evening, she sends her best regards to you all. As you know, Isis foundation was founded to support th-" Chloe tuned her out, already hearing all the spiel and not caring for it twice.

"Miss me?" she whispered to Queen. His smile grew as he saw her, taking her hand and spinning her into his hold.

"You have no idea." His hug brought her closer and he pressed his lips to hers quickly. Nothing more than a quick 2 second peck, but she felt her heart pound from it. He kept her close. "How corrupt are you?"

Chloe laughed softly.

"Not at all. Tess is nice."

"You must be ill." he concluded. She'd been saying that since she'd met him, but at this present point in his arms, she'd never felt better in her life.

"I'm fine. She's a tad controlling, and she knows what she likes. But that's nothing to be disliked."

"I'm serious. Have you been feeling feverish for long?" and he laid a hand across her forehead lovingly. She laughed and knocked it free, ignoring the feeling of a rush she had from him.

"I have another question." she started. He didn't like the sound of this one though. "Which notch in your bedpost was she?"

"You want a number?" That was not a sum he wanted to work out. Chloe giggled at his expression and wrapped her arms tighter around him.

"A quick; how you met and what went wrong will suffice." she offered.

"How I met Mercy?" he repeated, buying himself thinking time. "I met her when she was in a rough patch with some bad men. I helped her out and things blossomed."

"And the blossom died." she prompted.

"When we realised that we didn't work. We clashed a little too much on everything. If we agreed it was only ever on business. So, we decided friends were best." he summarised.

"Hmmm. She does enjoy crashing horns with you." Chloe commented, recalling her conversation with Tess. She was more than happy to insult Oliver's business style and recent agreement with an overseas business man who had asked for what she believed was too much.

"So, what did you two talk about for the last half hour?" His worry wasn't as controlled as he believed.

"You. All about you. Your darkest secrets and fears." she lied. "I could write an entire novel on you."

"Is that so?" But he pulled her tighter in his arms, not believing the words she teased him with.

"M'hmm." she agreed.

The speaker's words filled their silence and Chloe turned in Oliver arms, resting against his chest while watching the speaker with him.

"1 in every 10 people in the metropolis area are infected with meteor gifts. That's at least 25 meteor infected in this room alone. And that's all that makes them different to us." The speaker paused, walking the podium. "I know you hear cases of the meteor infected using powers to harm and destroy, and this can cause fear. But think of the other crimes in the world, those without infection are just as easy to slip into a life of crime. We should not penalise those who are infected for crimes that we are just as likely to commit ourselves." The woman had enthusiasm. No wonder Lana chose her to represent herself tonight. "If we are to condemn all the meteor infected, we may as well locked up every human on the planet also! I understand you fear their powers, but humans are not without power ourselves. Put a gun in the hand of our neighbour and he is no different to a meteor infection individual. Instead of shunning them, the world should embrace them. Hate leads to more hate. Love leads to unity. Education leads to peace and that's the goal here. Peace between those who have previously felt targeted." Targeted by men like Lex, Chloe thought. She tuned out the woman, getting her point and not needing the guilt drill that working for Lex injected her with.

"Another question; why are you here?" she asked, not turning to face him. He heard, resting his chin gently on her shoulder.

"Here in the general sense of alive? Or here in this room?"

"Here at this event, supporting this."

"I think it has good reason to be supported."

"Why?" she probed. She felt his chin roll on her shoulder, his eyes on her. "Unfettered access." she reminded him, not needing to meet his gaze.

"I'm a good friend with some 'meteor infected' people and they don't deserve the bad reputation because of some small few. If I can make a difference to better their lives, I'd like to do that." Chloe smiled.

"Ever dated a woman with meteor powers?" she followed up, then added "When I say dated I'm just being more polite than saying 'fucked the brains out of'." She felt Oliver's chest vibrate as he chuckled.

"Yes." he answered simply.

"And?"

"And what?" he chuckled again.

"How was it?"

"Prying into my sex life now?"

"Considering I'm going to be added to a long list, I think I should know my competition." she voiced. Oliver's arms came tighter around her.

"Believe me when I tell you that there is no competition." His words wrapped tighter than his arms, possessively claiming her sex drive. "And the list stopped growing a while ago. I don't intend to be adding many more names." he swore. "In fact. I just have one in mind." The claim froze her bones. One… more… just one. "Relax." he breathed, trying to hide the laughter at her reaction. Slowly, she softened in his arms.

"Rather a bold claim." her choice of words were, but they were quiet and shook.

"I intend to see it through." He felt her tense again and turned her in his arms. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah. Why this whole romantic charade?"

"It's not a charade." He brushed a curl from her vision, sending shivers of electric through her where his fingers touched. "I do intend to show you the full extent of a romantic love." And there he was throwing around the L-word. She tensed yet again and this time he did laugh. "My apologies. But you asked for full honesty." he reminded her, enjoying this much more than she was. In fact, this entire thing was backfiring. "People who have had a lot of '_relationships_'." She could tell he was choosing his words carefully. "Develop a barrier to stop people getting close. Sex becomes pointless, it can be a weapon if needed. They can turn on and off a switch of emotion. They don't love because one day they might wake up and that person will be gone; they don't want to feel that pain again so they block them out."

"You're dodging around words." she spoke, feeling drawn in despite it. Oliver smiled, moving another curl from her face.

"I need you to know I'm not going to leave as soon as we sleep together. Y-"

"You could just say the words." Something had flared her temper.

"But you need to feel it, you need to believe it. You need to know what I say is true." He watched her eyes, she had fallen already. Behind those eyes there was a war between angry tears at being pinpointed for emotions and feelings, and the want to curl into him and cry out the hardened girl that had been screwed over so many times by men. "You're worth more than one night Chloe. You're a woman who wants the romance, as much as you might deny it. After, we sleep together, I'll still want you, I'll still insist upon buying you flowers and taking you out." He had her locked down and figured out. Chloe felt the sting of tears tug at her.

"I'm going to get some champagne." she whispered. Oliver let her go, he watched her move through the crowds easily, head down and into the ladies powder room.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Review if you have the time. Let me know what you think :D<p>

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.

Part two comes as soon as I get the internet back. (Fingers crossed it won't take long).  
>Xx<p> 


	24. Breaking Point

Ahhh, I have internet again. You never know how much you appreciate it until it's gone. Seriously.

Reviews have been lovely, I'm over the moon that you are liking this. Posting should resume to a chapter every Monday hopefully. I'm currently tapping out dialogue for chapter 31 and I have the editing and proofing of C25-30 to do as well. So weekly should be perfect for me, and hopefully you'll appreciate this too.

**Previously;** Second date. Oliver turns up after a late business meeting and sweeps our dear maiden to his castle. Little Chloe takes a snoop and uncovers something very interesting in Mr Queen's drawers. In an attempt to avoid Chloe's crazy driving, Oliver agreed to full honesty with any question Chloe chose to ask during the night. Chloe asks why Queen has this romantic play for her, Queen answers... honestly... and Chloe gets whacked by a basket of emotion.

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><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Four; Breaking Point<span>

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><p>'<em>Some people are better at leading double lives than others'<em> – Chloe Sullivan (Season Three, Episode Extinction)

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><p>Chloe mercifully found the powder room empty and tugged herself tissues from the box, dabbing at her wet eyes. How could he read her so well? How could he speak what she didn't even know she felt herself? She was in over her head.<p>

The woman in the mirror wasn't who she knew. That woman was a love-struck fool. That woman cried in bathrooms and felt her heart pound when the man she craved touched her. This wasn't Chloe. Her fingers raised to her cheeks, watching the reflection copy. The reflection had emotion in her eyes. Emotion; another word for weakness in Luthor thesaurus. The reflection had tears smudging her eyeliner, but… she looked alive.

The Chloe that marched into Lex's office mere weeks ago didn't suffer with emotions, she didn't cry and … she barely ever smiled unless money was in her hands.

What had Queen done?

She'd accepted the job of messing with him without a second thought, she'd used men for business before, she'd been courted and it had never affected her.

What was so special about Queen?

Either way she'd well and truly lost control now.

Chloe dotted under her eyes with the tissues, trying to stop an eyeliner disaster before it happened. She managed to pull herself together and mostly save her appearance. When she finally straightened herself up, she was looking as spectacular as she had when she'd first looked in a mirror tonight. But inside, she was a mess.

God, how much she wished she could talk to Lois right now. She could have spent the entire night up, talking about boys and setting her world back to its rightful place. Like they did when they were girls and she'd got her first crush on Peter Harrison. Lois had teased her endlessly about her youngster crush, but she'd been there when he'd ignored her and gone to talk to Sandy Richards instead. She'd been there to talk, to comfort and to pull Chloe back together.

She missed Lois.

The powder room door opened and the Mary Antoinette stepped in, passed a smile and pulled out her make-up.

Chloe took her exit, but she wasn't quite ready for some more Oliver time yet. Instead she took the opposite direction, which happened to host the bar and stood by a stone column with another champagne flute, catching the end of the speech.

"Today, you are each a part of history, history for us to learn from. Each one of you has a story of segregation, isolation, prejudice and discrimination. Each period in history has a tale of those who are different being treated different, and not one of you can tell me that this action has led to anything positive. So let's learn from history, let's stop making the same mistake and welcome those who are different!" Chloe felt like she'd be hearing these same words at some conference for UFO chasers wanting to adopt aliens. Still, the words had the desired effect and applause broke out as she rounded off her speech.

She easily located Oliver, he was scanning the floor again for her. He looked worried; a break in his usual cocky façade.

Alone time was still preferable and she passed the huge skirt of an Elizabethan costume heading for the stairs.

The stairs offered nothing more than an elegant staircase and access to the upper balcony that wrapped around the inside of the hall, boasting a few seating enclaves. Exactly where she wanted to be right now.

Chloe floated up the stairs, lifting the dress to avoid the careless trip and fall that would have otherwise occurred, and finally, she reached the top balcony. Her eyes were transfixed on the sight below. Men and women in costume, paired and chatting. Huge hats and wigs on display, rich colours twirled together. It was a magical sight. The band that stood almost directly below her started their melody and she watched wives force their husbands into a dance. Chloe smiled, leaving the view to choose one of the empty enclaves. Royal purple futons surrounded a vase of lillies. She smoothed out the dress and took a seat.

Chloe managed 15 minutes alone with her thoughts to watch the couples below but then the Crusader from the bar threw himself into the seat opposite. He smelled foul of alcohol and his expression backed up the claim of drunk.

"How much love?" Excuse me? "Com'on. I got money. Better than Queen." Okay, so now she was a whore. Well, she didn't quite know if that was an improvement from the emotionless slut that didn't hold hope for men to stay once they'd slept with her or not. She'd have to ask Oliver.

"I think you've had a little too much Crusader sir. You might want to be heading home."

"I'll go home when I want to!" He wasn't yelling yet, but he was definitely giving her a bad flashback of her first night in metropolis. The first night she'd met Oliver, as it happened to be. But this time there was no smirking blonde playing with his phone a few seats down. But Chloe had no qualms dealing with him herself this time. "Now name a price. Queen clearly isn't interested tonight."

Wow, this drunk really was putting the bow on the previously summarised life. No, Queen wasn't interested in sex tonight, that much seemed to be clear as a bell. Besides, this was only date two.

Okay, so she was a tad bitter.

But then she remembered something very sweet. He'd promised her sexual activity before midnight. What time was it anyway? Chloe opened the clutch and fished for the phone.

"Are you listening to me? I. Will. Pay."

9:50pm. She had time. "I have the money." he continued, fishing in his pockets. "So, how much?"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"You wouldn't be able to afford me even if I were a whore." she told him, already tired with him. She'd been nice to him before, shown a courtesy she wouldn't have even thought of on Lex's arm, and _this_ was how she was repaid?!

"Hey!" This time he did shout. Thankfully the music covered his noise for the guests below. Others on the top balcony turned heads though. "You, are just entertainment. **MY** entertainment."

"Christian." Chloe felt chills up her spine, Oliver's voice clearly not happy and clearly having heard a little too much to pass this off as nothing. "You're drunk." Oliver looked just about ready to draw his pretend dagger and stab the man. He was serious, threatening, and if she wasn't pissed with him, she'd admit to the dark pull this side of him had on her. But the shine in his eyes... it was deadly.

Chloe took action, wrapping an arm around her thundering warrior. The drunkard would probably not even remember this tomorrow, no need to have a mysterious broken arm and leg to add to the hangover.

"Oliver, I'm fine." she soothed, her small hands trying to still the raging breathes that tore from the heaving chest.

"Go downstairs Chloe." She stepped back in shock. Had he ordered her away? Guess the subtle Lex and Oliver differences had a limit. Chloe stepped again, the hurt clear on her face, her body positioned between the two men. Christian's eyes lit up and Oliver grabbed her swiftly from between them, putting her behind him and once again ordering her downstairs.

"Oliver, he's just drunk." she hissed. He ignored her. "Look, I know he's an old employee, so cut him some slack okay."

This time he did turn to her.

"He's an old employee because of the numerous sexual harassment charges I'd have about him over the years. The last straw was him…" he paused, puffing out another breath. "This is not the place to discuss this."

She didn't move. "Chloe. Please. Go downstairs." The please was new. "Please?" he repeated again, the order softening to a request now.  
>Chloe turned her back to Oliver, more from fury than compliance, walking the balcony and heading for the closest set of stairs down. Tess Mercer stood at the top of the staircase, evidently being Oliver's previous company. She met Chloe with a single step.<p>

"I'll make sure the man walks away with some bones intact." Tess swore, but she seemed as testy as Oliver on the subject.

Chloe just nodded, storming the stairs and fading into the crowd.

* * *

><p>She'd worked herself into a rage when he found her again. At least she pushed it down under her skin, rather that Oliver's choice of emotion, riding his frame like he was the very demon of hate himself.<p>

"I won't apologise." he began.

"I won't ask for one then." she breathed, not bothering to face him. Her control over the anger was breaking. As usual- she scoffed internally- after all, Oliver was near. When did Chloe ever get control near him?!

"I don't regret what I did Chloe. I'd do it all over again."

"And what exactly did you do?" This time she did turn. He looked as delicious as ever, if anything, the rage behind his features was adding to the attraction ever more so. He looked like a coiled Cobra, ready to strike the next person to cross him. It did strange things to her mind, but fear was not listed.

"What I always will do; I protected you." he spoke it like she'd gone mad. But the words were the ones to snap her control entirely. He watched the flicker change her eyes into hardened jewels. She took a single step, looking like she was halfway between slapping him and walking out.

"Protect me." she repeated through clenched teeth. "Did you even think for one second that I don't need your protection?! Did I ever ask for it?!" Her voice wavered, the hot tears of anger building in her throat, but no, she would not cry. Not now. "No. And I'll tell you why. Because I can take care of myself. I always have and I always will. I'm not some fragile damsel, hell, you've fought me yourself, so I don't know where this insane idea came from, y-"

"It makes no diff-"

"Not your turn!" she shouted, slamming the heel of her foot into the ground as she did. But both arguers noticed the many eyes on them at that moment.

Temporary pause was hit for their argument and Oliver took Chloe's hand, as reluctant as she was, and led her through the crowd.

She rotated her wrist a few times, aiming for freedom, or possibly to slap him, but he held her tighter and threw her his narrowed eyes back. She stopped fighting and followed the footsteps through the crowd. He stopped before an office, halting the man in the process of locking the doors and handed him a few bills from his belt.

"Come back in 10 minutes?"

The man took the money happily, nodding as he stuffed it in his back pockets and taking his leave. Oliver pushed the door and shoved Chloe through it before closing the wood on them both. The music and gossip of the hall fell to almost silence with the door closed.

Chloe paced, then crossed the room once more and sat herself on the edge of the desk. Her temper burning beneath.

"Whether I'd fought you or not, it's the princi-" His attempt at calmly restarting the conversation flew her rage from its cage.

"The principle?!" she shouted, taking her feet back to the ground again. "Why can't you understand it's not your job to save me?!" Oliver crossed his arms over his chest, the move distracting her more than she would have thought. She slammed a fist down to the solid oak table. "God damn it! That man was no threat, and even if he was, I had every right to deal with it myself."

"He was fired for attempted rape Chloe!" Oliver snapped.

"And?" she hissed back. "What difference does that make? He's still a man, I can still take him and I can still spot the signs for danger miles away."

"Miles away? You practically sing for them and call them closer! You're a danger magnet!"

"I've lived so far _without_ you!" She did all she could to remain stationary, knowing it was the only way she wouldn't slap him.

"Things have changed now. While you're with me, I _will_ keep you safe."

"Why?!"

"I'd rather not have the headline read _'woman slaughters own rapist while boyfriend parties below'._"

"So this is about your precious appearance?! You wonder what the newspapers will think if you didn't step in and play macho man." she seethed, her hands flying out sharp as she made her point.

"No, this is a _'you're my girlfriend and it's my job to protect you'._"

"Because I'm a _frail woman_ and can't protect myself." she mocked. "Sexism now." The false conclusion only enraging him further.

"Damn it Chloe! Do I need to spell it out for you?" He marched the floor, but still left the distance between them. An extended fist's distance. "I'd rather fight your battles for you. I'd rather you be saved than risk injury. I'd rather be hurt myself than to see you hurt. I'd rather anyone else be put in your position than you! How can you not see that the thought of you hurt breaks me apart!"

Chloe felt the anger rush out of her like a sucker punch to the gut. He was back to this L-word and its associates.

"Regardless, I wasn't in danger. I could have dealt with that myself." she stated, but Oliver heard the calming. Her posture relaxed considerably, her shoulders dropping their hackles, the cold callous tone vanished.

"If anything would have happened to you Chloe."

"I would have ripped his dick from him before he even had the chance to whip it out." she finished for him.

"He was head of security Chloe. He's not exactly the easiest of men to defend against."

"So then I'll scream and you'll come running." she replied with a humoured smile.

Silence fell. A numb silence that consumed the latent anger and replaced it with exhaustion.

"You absolutely infuriate me sometimes."

"Funny. I think the same." But her humour was dry. Regardless, he breathed a millisecond of a chuckle from his lungs.

"And yet… even screaming at me…" he reflected. "I've never wanted you more." The words were a breath from a whisper. His eyes clashed with hers and sparked a fire in both bellies. Her chest rose with her breath, she didn't know if it was the remnants of her anger or the words. He didn't wait for her to decide, just crossed the room, taking her face in his hands and pressing his lips to hers.

This was an entirely different kiss than what he'd given her before. It was needy, yes. It was consuming, yes. But, it wasn't starting a rush between her legs, it was flooding her heart instead. Every part of her seemed to tingle, the argument completely forgotten, there was peace.

Need, and yet a stable peace.

He tasted forgiveness from her eager lips. Something he had no expectations of receiving as she was shouting at him. He knew he'd done wrong, but he'd do it all over again for her. Just to have her in his arms like she was now, just to keep her kissing him like she was now.

Chloe dropped her head, her hands still on him.

"At least we've established you want me." she spoke with humour, perching back on the desk.

"I didn't realise that was at question." His brow furrowed and he stepped back a few centimetres, trying to figure her out yet again.

"When a girl has her hand on your erection and you can still say no… it doesn't exactly make her think you're head over heels."

"Trust me, whatever you were thinking, it was a **lot** more difficult for _me_ that night." Oh, he remember that night very well, the ache, the desperation, the devil on his shoulder telling him to screw his plan and take her. That night came swiftly to his memory late at night when he was trying to find sleep, it came to him when he sat at his desk or drifted from attention in the board meetings. She looked so beautiful, so tempting, such a tease to his desire. It was a night for the history books.

"I shouldn't have to work this hard to get you to sleep with me… aren't you even half as horny as me?" she breathed a laugh. Oliver chuckled, lifting her chin with a hooked finger.

"There hasn't been a day I haven't woken up wanting you." he swore. "You're in my dreams every night, doing everything you've whispered in my ear and more. And then I have to take all those wonderful images and push them to the back of my mind so I don't throw you over my shoulder the second I see you." He traced a finger over her smile. "Take tonight. The main thought in my head that's remained since the moment I saw you, is to find out what the hell underwear you decided on wearing." Her eyes sparkled with laughter. "If any…" he added with a dark whisper.

"Then why resist?"

"I refuse to be what you've had before." Her eyes darkened, this time it wasn't lust. "No offence, but it's true. Isn't it?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny." He took that to be her agreement.

"We will finish our three dates Chloe. That, I promise you. So, you can stop plotting and planning. You can stop thinking up new ideas to torture me, and you can just enjoy being spoilt rotten." Chloe nodded passively, thinking it over.

"I suppose that's one option." she agreed, and slipped from the desk and against him. "But, I prefer my way. It's much more fun." She slid past him, back to the doors. "In fact, my way earned me a deal for tonight. A deal you have yet to make good on." she reminded him. He sighed but it was accepting. "If fact, my way is going to make tonight hell for you." she laughed brightly.

"I can give just as good as I get." he warned, but it did nothing to deter her.

The corners of her lips lifted sinfully. Her plotting was _far_ from over.

"So," she began again. "Shall we dance?" Oliver wearily took her offered hand, leading her from the room again, joining the crowd.

He took her in his arms easily, as before he was still a wonderful dancer, held her with a sweet grip of control, and she didn't mind. The main reason she didn't mind, was because while he could control their dance, she would control his mind.

"Question." she began, breaking the quiet between them within the first few seconds of movement. She didn't need to think the steps, Lionel had insisted she learn to be passed as 'upper class', Lex had developed them to take her out with him as a business asset, and besides, Oliver was an excellent leader. "And remember you are answering with full honesty." Oliver met her eyes with narrowed gaze, what was coming next on the wheel of fortune? But he swept her across the room with ease, the material of her dress sweeping over his legs as he twirled her with him. "You said you dreamed about me. True?"

"Yes." he answered quick, summarising this to be a round of quick fire yes or no. He was right, well at least for the next question.

"Am I ever naked?" His pause was enough of an answer, but still his dance didn't falter.

"Yes."

"And when you dream of me," she whispered across the space, obvious to the tease she was playing. "What are you doing?" He met her gaze, looking dangerous and dark. Lust was creeping up his back.

Chloe had once read that men thought with pictures, women with words, sex drives being the same. So, Oliver could paint her a nice picture and the memory would flash back in a series of sordid photos for him to enjoy. "Honestly Oliver." she purred, seeing his deliberation.

"Honestly?" She grinned and nodded. "I'm saving you from Lex." She didn't expect that, nor the wording. But considering the last half hour, perhaps the man had a thing for playing prince charming. She darkly thought he'd probably get along well with Green Arrow.

"The last dream you had with me. Tell me what happened. Exactly as you saw it." Like sin, he was drugged, speaking before he could think.

"I'd gone to the Luthor mansion and… taken you from Lex." he edited as his brain resumed thinking again. "We spent the night together."

"Together?" she repeated, tugging herself closer to him, the full meaning of 'togetherness'. "Doing what?" Her breath tickled his ear.

"Exactly what you think we did." he answered with a strict tone to his voice. She laughed softly and let him be.

Her new position in his arms, dancing slowly pressed to each other, gave her other ideas. Her hands were leaning on his collarbone, her fingers laced behind his neck, the slower song taking them with a sweet sway. As much as she liked to dance with him, the classical music was a bit too much of Lionel's tastes for her to appreciate it to its full extent. But for now, she wouldn't break apart because of one thing and one thing alone. Positioning. His hands were linked, sitting just above the curve of her ass as they moved together. Each motion of them moved the soft silken fabric of her dress and bust against his pecks.

"If you want to know." she began, a whisper to his ear. "I could just tell you." He knew exactly what she meant with the tease. His hands came apart, flattening on her back to pull her closer still and take away her next words.

"I never should never have told you that." But he chuckled softly. She smelled so sweet, right at the nape of her neck. Perfume? Nothing he'd ever smelled before. It was a playful scent, the kind that stirs a man. It wasn't floral, it wasn't berries… then again, maybe it was a blend of the two tricking him. But in his mind he could only label it as the edge of feminine; something so definitely female, but raw and dangerous at the same time.

"Truth." she recalled to him. "Do you want me to tell you?"

"I thought those damn questions were an escape… you'll sell my soul if I answer anymore."

"That depends on what I ask. Now, do you want me to tell you?"

"Yes. You know it's a yes."

"Good." But she held her silence for a few seconds. His eyes met hers expectantly and she just laughed. "Oh, I'm not going to tell you. The only way you'll know… is if you look at them." And the seductress was back again, so quick it gave him emotional whiplash.

Her head came back to his shoulder, one of her hands slithering from his neck to under the cloak, stroking down his ribcage and then back up again to trace his hidden nipple. His own grip clasped firm on her frame for half a second before he was gone, barely daring to touch her now.

"Am I one of your precious cars now?" she spoke. The words confused him, until she follow her question. "Too special to manhandle. Too pricy to take for a real spin?" she mocked him, her lips came to his ear lobe, he felt her warm breath over the small hairs on his neck as the next words left her. "Because, you should know; I like it rough." Chloe heard the broken breath tear from his chest, felt the sharp rise under her hand and took the lobe of his ear between her teeth gently.

This time his hands weren't pulled back after a second, one fisted the material against her back, the other gripping the firm shape of her ass. Her own gasp broke and she released the bite she had on him.

"If it was just you and I here, I'd already be deep in you, and you'd be screaming my name." Though it wasn't intended as any threat, the words reverberated darkly inside her, gripping the swell of lust between her legs and squeezing it tight. Oh, how his words affected her. A sweet chill swept down her, the kind of direct lust hitting you that you feel it stream all the way from your ears to your clit. "But we're not. So either relent, or give in, because no matter what you say I'm not going to possibly get any more desperate for you tonight, and nothing you say will make me change my mind."

"Stubborn." she complimented. "But…" and then came the vixen. "I'll take that bet." Her fingers coasted through the short hairs at the nape of his neck. "See, there are things I could say. Things I could do. Which would wipe that no sex idea straight from your mind." The hand under the cloak traced a circle around his nipple, slowly and patiently, matching the stir of her words. "For instance, I could happen to mention to you that there's a hotel with vacancies two buildings to the left of this one." He gulped, knowing whatever was to follow would not be easy to cope with. "I could tell you about my latest fantasy involving you. The one where I'm under your desk at work, and while you try, so, _hard_-" Her finger stopped its motion and started to slide down his abs. "To concentrate on your precious meetings. I'm unzipping you, wrapping my fingers around you, taking the tip of my tongue that you love to be distracted by and finally tasting you. And you slowly unravel, unable to concentrate on anything, but the throbbing of your… _cockiness_." To punctuate her point, she groped him through the leather of the 'skirt'. She didn't need to feel much more than the awoken state of his second mind.

She breathed a single laugh, drawing his lusted eyes back to the present. She started again. "I could tell you that you already owe me something, in less than 1 hour, you have to deliver. I could tell you I have no problem with ditching this party, taking any room that hotel can give and letting you strip me of this dress. Not _only_ will the mystery of my underwear be solved, but maybe you'll let me have my fantasy of tasting you tonight." Chloe felt the hands on her tighten again. She was under his skin.

"Chloe-" the warning was about to leave his lips, but the hand resting on his collarbone came to silence the words.

"Just think about it. And, since I know how determined you are, I'll even let you have that third date any way you like. And when you want sex again, you can have it your way. Rose petal and candles and everything."

"I'm not taking you in a hotel." he ground out, her hand removed for him to speak.

"Then drive me back to your place." she offered. "But all this sexual tension between you and I is creating a problem."

His breathing became the pant of a lustrous man. She let him have his thoughts. The seed had been placed, it was growing inside his mind and was about to come to fruition all on its own.

"Come with me." he snapped, a trace of anger in his tone. Had she pushed too far? His pace was fast, the dance finished for them as he stepped back, his hand almost pulling her to stumble several times as he led her to the exit. Where?

"Oliver-"

"I made a deal. And I am a man of my word Chloe."

That still didn't explain where she was going. Was the deal he referenced the one for no sex before the third date, or was it the sexual actions he intended to deliver upon? This was either going to go very well for her, or she was going to end up getting angry. Her eyes tried to figure him out as they kept moving. But they didn't stop at the valet, no. He took the streets in the direction of the hotel. She could have melted. But why did he walk so fast, she was practically running to keep with his stride.

Her head was spinning from the high of success. She'd cracked Oliver. She had her control again.

The warm air of the foyer didn't even register as warm, she hadn't felt the chill of the outside at all.

"Your best room. Now." He pulled a black credit card from somewhere. Chloe had no idea where the hell he'd hidden that. "And the faster you do it, the better."

"Of course sir-" And then the average clerk looked at the name on the card and blinked up at Oliver. "Yes Mr Queen." He literally snapped to attention before the name. His fingers sped across the keyboard and he read off a name and price for Oliver. All the while Chloe was finally getting a chance to stand still, hugging his arm if only to slow him with her weight when he took off again, trying to tow her along in heels not designed for fast movement of any kind.

The next thing Chloe locked her eyes to see, was Oliver being handed an electronic key and then she was back on the rollarcoaster high of her life, dragged to the elevator, her heels quickly and happily tapping out a dance as she stumbled her way across the hall. Some part of her alerted her to the fact she was a little tipsy, the clean fresh air of the hotel cleaning out the cobwebs of the alcohol blur.  
>Still, it was nothing to be concerned about and the elevator doors opened for Oliver as he approached. An old lady tottered out as he slid past and pulled Chloe fast to him. Chloe was sure the old lady would titter at them, but she didn't get the chance to find out, Oliver's lips were on hers the second she came crashing to him.<p>

He was fast, he was needy. He was impatient and lustful.

It was the Arrow kisses again, the ones that flooded her system drugging her with his image. He didn't even wait for the elevator doors to full close before his hands were on her dress, trying to reveal her where she stood. Maybe sanity came to him of his action, or maybe she groaned a complaint against his lips, but his hands decided against the undressing idea while they still had distance to cover and instead her spun her to the wall, her back hitting the mirrors with a hard sound, she didn't even notice any pain, just the pleasure of his kiss, his tongue dancing with hers, driving her insane with each stroke. One hand came to her breast, taking the shape and weight like it was the saving antidote to a deathly poison. His thumb rolled across the fabric covering her nipple and she felt the motion even through the clothing. The other hand was in her curls keeping her to his lips like the dying man in need of water.

He was everywhere and everything she wanted.

Her eyes opened to a ping, but only after he'd pulled away. His smirk had her captivated all over again, forgetting about the speed he was going to drag her with and she almost fell out of the elevator. He managed a laugh on a single breath and pulled her to him, kissing the life from her as he walked the corridor, his hands fully prepared to lift her and carry her if she fell behind again.

Now was hardly the time to take thing slowly. He'd resisted, he'd tried. But now here she was, in his arms and he would give her what she wanted.

The clutch vibrated against her arm but she didn't give a damn, she was riding a high.

Once again, her back found a wall. No, this was a door. Oliver broke her kiss to fumble with the damn electric key. Her breath was out of control, her hair covering half her face, her mind left behind at the dance plotting out her next seduction move. But here she was, wrapped in the thrill of Oliver.

The door fell from behind her and again her feet were stumbling into another area. Oliver barely made it into the room before he slammed the door closed and had her against it, this time with no reservations about undressing her. His hands were on her dress, sliding off the straps.

"Bed." she managed to speak around his demanding lips. It must have made it to his thoughts even if he didn't acknowledge hearing it and she found herself lifted from her previous position, her legs naturally falling into place wrapped around his waist. His mouth came to her cleavage, pulling the dress down, the bra going with it and he sucked on her erect nipple, dragging an aching moan from her throat.

The small bag started to vibrate again, the only other noise but breathing in the room. Oliver must have noticed, snatching the bag and throwing it from her, the wrap following in the same direction.

His attention came back to her entirely, she was his everything. His drug, his thunder. She tasted sweet, like honey or fresh rain. She was lava and lightening in his hands. Hot, and god damn dangerous as she dragged her hips down, trying to find the release she needed in grinding him. He groaned over her nipple, her back landing on the bed as they fell together.

Her hands were all over him, pulling at the cloak, tugging it from him, the belt her next target as he swapped to the other nipple, the air hitting the previous attended one and pulling it tight. She arched her back, fingers fumbling with the costume covering his erection as she tried to find what she needed from him. Her hips were already grinding his leg, her underwear probably soaked in her own juices as she did.

"Chloe." he called her name, the situation breaking past the need barrier for him. Her eyes locked in his and this time his kiss was sweeter, slower, paced and practiced. She loved it just as much as before. Brushing her hair from her eyes he found himself locked in a new need. Loving her. He couldn't take her here, as much as he wanted to, and he _**did**_ want to. Her hands stopped trying to disrobe him and rested against his naked chest, both trying to regain the oxygen they had missed. Things had sort of passed in a blur of lust for both of them.

Her phone broke the air again, the damn vibration of another call. She'd bet her life it was Lex, well he could just wait!

Oliver rested his head against the hollow of her neck, his breath as ragged as hers. "I said I wouldn't take you in a hotel, but you have no idea how hard it is to keep thinking that with you beneath me."

She smiled, arching to take his lips again, guiding him over on the bed as she straddled him, pushing her hair once again from her eyes.

"You promised me something else though."

"I don't think I can stop if I do." His honesty was alarming, he _really_ believed in this romantic crap. He was actually pained at the thought of taking her here and now. She ran her fingers through the blonde short hairs on his head, he closed his eyes, the torment of the decision weighed on him. She lowered herself, peppering kisses from his throat down and back up again, her hands touched like that of lovers, not groping idiots driven by basic desires.

"I'll stop you." Something in her words caught him and he opened his eyes to hers. She hovered over him, her gaze on his. "You only promised me so much tonight. I'll stop you before you break your promise to yourself." And a heat flew through his heart, she was honest. "If you choose to carry on, so be it." she finished with and that was the Chloe he knew.

"You'll stop me." And her nod sealed something in him. He rose from the bed, his arms back around her like she was the world's most sacred treasure.

Lips reconnected, but with a lovers passion. Hands explored, removing clothing as much as was needed, but with a care.

Chloe groaned when the damn phone interrupting her again. She lifted herself from Oliver regretfully, the break in their lips lasted for her to speak four words before he pulled her back.

"I'll turn it off." His hands refused to let her go, crashing her back to him.

"Let it ring." he whispered against her lips, claiming her back as her own. She was delicious, she was heaven, and she was promising to be his angel for the night, obeying his line.

"They'll just keep ringing." she warned, but with his lips to her neck as they were in that moment, she couldn't really care. Her dress hung off her shoulders, her hair was messed, the curls falling free, and he still looked like a god beneath her. It wasn't fair. She bet he even woke up looking like a million dollars too. Oliver took her repose to strike and her had back under him.

The phone stopped vibrating and he smiled, their gaze holding. Seconds passed, each saving a breath.

One.

Two.

Three.

No ring. Oliver grinned, raising her an eyebrow to question all that she knew, it was something she found sinfully delicious. Their lips met for another three second and then the vibration was back again, driving them apart. "I told you." she laughed against him. He groaned and cursed but took his weight off her, turning onto his side, propped on his elbow like a fashion model turned sex god. Damn man was quite possibly perfect.

"Turn it off." he conceded, his free hand giving her a nudge up. The quicker the phone was gone, the sooner they could get down to business. She looked halfway ravaged as she stood, and he fully intended to finish that for her. She had sex hair and she looked so tempting it was a miracle he stayed where he was while she slipped soundlessly across the room to the clutch. He watched her kneel and dig through the bulging bag, but then she turned to him, chewing that damn lip.

"I have to answer it." she spoke in apology and didn't give him another second to contest her decision. "Kinda busy at the moment." she hissed to the phone, taking herself to the wall.

"_I don't care. Someone's been into my files."_ Lex seemed mad. Understandable. As if the constant ringing hadn't tipped her off.

"It will probably wait." Besides, she was already on a job for him.

"_Chloe. You will get here now, and not a second later_."

"Kinda on a **date**." She stressed the last word knowing he would understand. He didn't seem to care.

"_Queen will wait, this is more important_." She sighed. His tone allowed no dispute. She wanted to shout and curse and call him every name under the sun she could think of. But she knew it would lead to nothing good. She only had one option.

"Alright. Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't touch the files that have been accessed." And she hung up.

Oliver heard the keywords of her reply and his head shot up. If she was going back now, she'd find some way to stop them from reading the files.

"You're leaving?" Sadness crossed his features. He was burning just thinking of her gone.

"…I have to." She seemed more broken than he'd seen her ever.

"You said you'd finish what you started." he replied with a smile, sitting up on the bed. Chloe bit her lip again, pushing the loose strands of hair behind her ear nervously. Oliver sighed and stood. "You don't really want to leave." he purred. "And Lex can wait." The attempt to bargain was sweet and he crossed the room to her. She shuffled, pulling back up the shoulder of her dress. "Maybe I don't get to do _all_ the things I wanted tonight-" he laughed. "But I'm sure he'll wait a little while longer."

"I'm sorry Ollie." He grinned, it was the first time she'd given him that nickname, and he just seemed to want her more for it. He pulled her closest hand, urging her backwards with him and sat on the edge of the bed. She numbly followed her urges to comply, naturally accepted the tug onto his lap and straddled him again. Chloe closed her eyes, casting her face down from Oliver's soulful eyes. "I have to go."

"Alright. I'll let you go. But we do things my way on the third date. Romantic. Slow. No funny business from you."

Chloe groaned.

"Com'on. Considering right now, I think that's entirely not fair." she complained. "I hardly got any time. This is not my fault." she pouted. He chuckled at her cute attempt at a pout, stealing her lips and dropping them both to the bed again.

"It's not _my_ fault. But I'm the one left wanting." His words were true, he pushed her hair behind her ears again. Just like her, it refused to be tamed.

"Then consider it payback for the first date." she whispered with a laugh and pushed herself upright.

Oliver's hands rested on her hips, keeping her where she was. A smirk plastered on his face.

"You really wanna leave?" he challenged, knowing her centre was pushed right against his erection. She knew it too.

"It's not a case of want." Her words were desperate, as she looked for a way around her situation.

"Then stay." To make his point he pulled her hips closer to him, watching her eyelids flutter closed, her hands gripping his shoulders to keep herself in control.

"I wish I could." she breathed, finding her strength again.

"You owe me."

"And you owe me for the first date." she repeated, taking his hands off her and slipping from the bed and his warm body. She felt instantly a few degrees colder from the lack of contact. "We'll call it even." she summarised, lifting her clutch from the floor again.

Oliver was right behind her, his form flush to her, his hands rolling up her thighs and sliding under the dress to the panties underneath. His fingers traced the material, finding the wet heat that soaked the centre of the underwear.

"If you stay. Things will only keep getting better." he spoke, lips to her ears, cradling her body and his pointer finger drew circles over the lace covering her clit.

Chloe lost her reply in the sensations, her balance already relying on Oliver to remain upright. "But-" and he stopped his motions, resting his fingers at the apex of her thighs. "If you need to go."

"I hate you right now." she whispered. He chuckled darkly. "I really do have to go."

"I know, I know." And his hands left her thighs, choosing instead to hold them up in the air in surrender. Chloe brushed the hair from her eyes and looked at him pained, trying to find the strength to deny Lex. He looked delicious, all she wanted was her hands back on him and to finish what he started. He chuckled, seeing her deliberation. "Just so you know, I held up my side of our deal." Chloe's mind cast back to his promise of giving her such sexual thrills by the end of the night. Yeah, he definitely held up his end. She was most definitely thrilled. Not exactly as 'sated' as she had hoped. But… there was no time.

"And there won't be any fight for the third date." she admitted. "But… something less flashy perhaps?" she smiled, letting him approach to straighten up her dress straps. She was a sexy mess, and it was all his fault. He loved the claim it gave him over her. She _was _his.

"How about I cook for you?" he offered, untangling the grips from her messed hair, his eyes still locked with hers.

"You cook?"

"If the need arises."

"I'd like that." Chloe smiled brightly.

"I'll warn you now. There will be candles on the table. Possibly a rose too." Chloe laughed at him. She could really see herself falling hard if she wasn't careful.

"I suppose I can stomach it."

"You deserve the romance Chloe." His hand came from her hair painlessly, with 6 grips and a small blonde coloured bobble. She hadn't even felt him remove them. She accepted the bobble alone, scraping her hair back to a ponytail quickly with a practised ease. "You need the romance." She smiled, taking the grips from his outstretched hand and dropping them in the clutch.

"I _need_ to be moving." she corrected, "Besides, I think I've already had my yearly quote of romance from you recently." He chuckled, his hands tenderly caressing the bruised lips. "Sorry Ollie." she spoke again, realising she'd shortened his name this time. His grin told her to keep calling him it. With a kiss to his lips, hoping to give everything she wanted to say and do, she parted from him and opened the door. He watched her pause, the wrap lying limp in her hand, her posture tired and given in. She turned, leaning against the open door. "Soon?" she asked. Oliver lifted his head to her question. "I'll see you soon?" she expanded. He grinned and nodded.

"Very." And with a sad smile she walked a single step through the door, but stopped again. Oliver grinned, she had fallen deep, but even he couldn't have predicted her next words. They did funny things to his heart.

"What you said?" she started, one hand still holding open the door, she looked nervous, debating if she should speak, or just leave. But confidence won and more words tumbled free. "Were you serious?" Her eyes fluttered back to him. She was exposed, her guard entirely down, the blue in her eyes taking over. This- buried beneath layers of other identities- was the real Chloe. He could feel it. "About… after we… you won't leave?" Had she no idea just how irresistible she was? How could she put on this marvellous act for everyone, yet be hiding such a broken spirit inside. He'd heal her, he swore. He'd make sure she never doubted just how captivating she was ever again.

"I meant every word. You're special Chloe; I don't think I'll ever tire of being around you." The truth washed over her, calming the nerves that sizzled, they were the remains of the timid teenager Lionel had sealed deep down, but somehow Oliver had cracked through every other identity she had. "I promise you Chloe." His promise took a scary edge, was she ready for what this would lead to? Either way, he was truthful, she could feel it. She managed a smile and finally slipped from the room.

Oliver sat back on the bed, rubbing a hand down his features.

He took his own mobile from the floor.

'_She's on her way to Lex. Delay her.'_

He text quickly and sent the message to Victor.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Usually, i'm begging for reviews in this space. As are most writers.<p>

But for this chapter i'm jazzing it up. I'm asking you that are reading this to consider writing yourself. I know some of you have a 'I can't write' or 'I have good ideas, but then I put them down and they're terrible' or 'I don't want to get abuse if it's bad' mentality, but the thing is, you've probably read a great deal of fanfiction, you love it... and it's possible (like me) you're running out of certain fanfictions to read and you're needing more. So, i'm tell you that that small idea you had in the back of your mind while reading or watching tv or working out at the gym, it needs to be out there so people can read your genius.

So, instead of reviews, i'm asking you take 30 minutes, sit with microsoft word (or whatever your choice) and tap out some words. If you don't like what you've written, go ahead and delete it, no-one will know. But there's that good chance it's golden, there's that chance you write something and you think it's fantastic. And there will be other readers who really want to read that golden script you're working on. So i'm begging you to put words on electronic paper and give it a go. The fanfiction community needs more writers (I believe) and besides... if you can't run your fingers down Oliver's Queen's chest in real life... do it in fiction.

Honestly... you could make Oliver Queen do anything you like... _anything._

_;)_


	25. Working Night and Day

I'm glad you're thinking of dusting off those writing boots guys, makes me so happy! And I don't just mean for Smallville fictions, I'm hitting a Vin Diesel phase and I've spent every single one of my nights for the last two weeks reading fanfiction of his movies. It probably didn't help my addiction to him when I saw the new Riddick film, but it was so good for me ;) So i'm saying if you've got a hot actor on the brain, I strongly encourage you to put him into words and make those fantasies come true.

Reviews have been enjoying my previous chapter it seems. I am most pleased, I believe the keyword was 'hot' for the last chapter, haha!

If you want me to read and review on one of your fanfictions, I am most willing- drop me a PM or add a note in a review. I do take interest in other tv/movies too, so check my profile page description and i'm happy to review on any fanfiction that tickles my listed interests.

**Previously; **Chloe had a mini breakdown in the bathroom. She was propositioned for sex by a drunk ex-employee of Queen Industries. Mr Queen showed his angry side. They argued. It got steamy on the dancefloor and then the temperature soared when our dear billionaire hero cracked his shell ;)  
>Lex interrupted and Chloe sadly had to leave, but not before letting Ollie see her vulnerable side.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Five; Working Night and Day<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>This is one enemy you don't know, and not knowing who you're in bed with can make for a very uncomfortable awakening'<em> – Lionel Luthor (Season Five, Episode Oracle)

* * *

><p>Chloe was raging as she threw herself into the computer chair before Lex's machine.<p>

"This was the fastest you could get here?" Lex questioned, his opinion about the situation very clear. Her eyes snapped at him and she looked ready to kill.

"Three minor car accidents blocking roads, _empty_ cars just left lying across lanes." she listed, the snap in her voice defending herself, but she was far from over her tirade yet. "Every _single_ red light. Every, fucking, red, light." she seethed, re-adjusting Lex's damn chair to her small height. "Arrow knew where I was, and he did everything he could to stop me getting back here." she hissed at Lex's computer, already finding the compromised files.

"If I lose anyt-"

"You won't" she snapped, already pissed and on a short fuse. "For god sake, someone get me some fucking coffee!" she yelled into the room, not caring which one of his guards caved first to fetch it, but her alcohol buzz hadn't quite faded yet. Lex clicked his fingers, sending one of the bodyguards closest the door to get the staff in the kitchen to make her something heavy with caffeine. She'd need it, it would be a long night tonight.

"All of th-"

"I know which ones they took Lex." she answered sharply before he could tell her. Lex wisely silenced himself, sitting with his drink as she tapped out key after key, plugging in different things to his computer.

"They've opened one folder's contents so far." She updated him 20 minute later, her anger still not ebbed.

"Which?"

"_Cora 5,_" she read from the screen, not recognising the name.

"It's nothing. That's fine." Lex spoke. "Block the rest, find me a location of them."

"Lex, they've filled your system with a virus. Anything I open or investigate they try to corrupt. This is going to take time."

"Then work fast." he ordered.

* * *

><p>"Cora 5?" Dinah asked, reading over Vic's shoulder, having just joined the gang tonight. She yawned, her previous late night not working in her favour.<p>

"Old military base. Lex was scouting it to plan out a new facility."

"So this is going to be a new base?" she asked again, turning to face AC as he spoke.

"Not from what we've got. It's too small we think." Dinah nodded and turned back. "Where's sparticus?"

"Showering." Vic answered, not bothering to turn from the screen where he was following something.

"And how long is this going to take?" she enquired, jabbing a finger at the monitor.

"A long time." Victor muttered, already annoyed with the hovering.

"Then, I guess I'll go have a talk with green bean."

The three boys gave her all of a second after she left the room before turning to each other.

"Again?" Vic asked.

"No, he's after Chloe. He wouldn't." Bart spoke… trying to find strength to believe what he was saying fully.

"Dinah knows that, right?" Vic asked again.

"I don't think she cares." AC answered but they all shrugged and turned their attention away. It wasn't their business. But Bart's gaze lingered, he focussed his mind on the upstairs, trying to hear through walls.

* * *

><p>He'd called her a danger magnet…<p>

Chloe's mind was far from the task at hand. Why had Oliver called her a danger magnet? She hadn't been in danger around him, well, other than the Arrow incident, but that was _his_ magnetic pull.

Sure, it was true, she admitted to herself as she tapped out her fingers again. But why was Oliver calling her that? Did he pick up on something? He _was_ perceptive. Entirely possible he was just reading her.

"Anything?" Lex's voice called her from her thoughts.

"They haven't accessed anything new yet. They're trying for _Intraspectus Plans_ at the moment, but I'm blocking it."

"Let them have it and focus on the other files, it's nothing more than a floor plan." he dictated. Chloe abandoned the file and starting activating the hidden booby-traps on the other stolen files to stop them from accessing anymore. It required working one by one and then remotely encrypting any files they managed to break the trap on. But so far, they seemed to be working slowly, as was the plan from all this security she'd previously installed. She'd have them secured in a few hours. Though, she doubted she would find a location… but…

She bit her lip, she didn't want to be the one to tell Lex that. He found her gaze on him for a second, but as she saw him looking, she snapped back to action.

* * *

><p>Oliver came back into his bedroom to see Dinah on his bed. Just sat at the end of it, looking tired and quickly frankly a little on the sad side.<p>

"Why?" Dinah just asked.

"Why what?"

"Why her?" Oliver didn't want to get into this with her. "There's no future. There's no possibilities. There's just hate."

He sighed audibly and went to his closet instead. "Oh Com'on Ollie. What makes her so much more special than any other woman on this planet, she'll make your life complicated, she'll drive you insane, and let's face it, there's no way it can ever work. So… why? Why her?"

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. It seemed like she wasn't going to give in until she had an answer.

"The greatest loves don't come easily." he quoted.

Dinah heard the quiet words, processed them slowly to make sure, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear. She wanted to hear something like Chloe wore a lot of green which he liked, or that she was a tease, which he also liked. Something superficial... but no…

"So you love her now?" she summed, defeated down to the core.

"It's a saying Dinah." he corrected.

"But you're not denying it…"

"I don't w-"

"No. It's fine." she interrupted, knowing a loss when she saw it. He had a serious thing for Chloe… maybe it was time for her to introduce herself. "The heart wants what it wants." And she stood, leaving the room.

Oliver sighed and crashed to the bed, he was getting real tired of watching women walk out of rooms tonight…

* * *

><p>It took hours, but she finally made all unopened files completely useless to the thieves. But regretfully, she wasn't in bed yet.<p>

"How did they even get into your files?!" she hissed, pacing as she so often did when stressed. She still wore the dress she arrived in, the heels still on her feet, though she was really regretting not having the seconds to take them off. She was going to ache tomorrow.

"Security breach." he simply answered. "It's being dealt with as we speak."

"You mean you're firing someone who let in someone." Chloe scanned the room, finding a vase of flowers on the desk. "Seriously, a flower delivery man planted a bug in your files. And some security's being fired for letting him in."

"Her. And she shouldn't have been allowed into my office unsupervised. You know that Chloe." She rolled her eyes to the wall and perched on the edge of the sofa. "Now, as I asked before. Are the files safe? Did they take anything else?"

"The bug is deactivated. They're not receiving anything new and what they have to use are only the two we previously discussed, all others are fried." She sighed. "However, the full system scan is going to take an hour before I'll know what kind of bug they used and which files they targeted primarily." Chloe yawned , her hand reaching to cover the show of tiredness.

"You'll be sleeping here tonight."

"I'd prefer to get a taxi back to Metropolis if that's alright with you." she hissed instead, her temper flying when she was tired.

"You'll stay here. There are still some things in your room you'll find acceptable."

"Fine, but I'm gone tomorrow morning."

"You'll be accompanying me to the Opera tomorrow evening." Lex again corrected. He didn't see the way her eye twitched in anger, or the way her fingers curled into a fist for three seconds before she regained control.

"I hate the opera." A fact he'd known for a while, but his expression said he didn't care.

"There will be business pockets, and Queen may be there."

The Opera… that brought another **_very_** important question to her lips.

"Will your father?"

"Possibly."

"Then I'm not going. Find another broad." Her heels clicked fast as she aimed for the bedroom.

"Chloe." His tone halted her in her footsteps. She prepared herself for the threat that was to come. "I can kick you back to another country if that's what you want. I can lift the smoke screen covering your tracks and make your life become very difficult very fast."

"I get it. I'm your play thing." she spoke regretting her life choice all over again. Always to be crushed by the Luthor weight. "But I'm gone the second your father is within 25 yards of me. And I don't care what you threaten to do, that is what will happen."

"He will have his own box if he even decides to turn up." Lex spoke like it justified everything.

"Regardless. You've made your threat, I've made my condition."

"You're tired." he stated, not up for debate. "You'll find out what files were accessed, compile a full list and then go to bed." She resisted the urge to mock salute him. "And Chloe." She flashed her eyes up to him, they were boiling with repressed rage. "You'll lose the attitude."

* * *

><p>Bart turned to Victor, his head dropped to his hands after a long time tapping on the keyboard.<p>

"She kicked your ass again didn't she?" Bart snickered.

"I'll kick _your_ ass. You're not meant to be cheering for her." Victor reminded him.

"Can't help it if she's better."

"Who's better?" Oliver stepped into the room again, coffee in hand. The woman was snaking her way into his drinking habits too. His gaze went to Victor's lack of clicking. "Seriously?" he asked, incredulous of what laid before him. "She was delayed by an entire hour, and you only managed two blueprints… we might be outmatched electronically guys." he summed.

"We're not outmatched." Victor defended harshly, disappointed with himself too. "It's hardly fair when she's already laced her trickery all over the damn files." he scoffed. "Like walking into a damn minefield and trying to dig up a live mine as a souvenir." Bart pulled a face at his simile. "We didn't even stand a chance."

"So, we don't get in electronically." Oliver answered. "There must be paper copies that Lex keeps around."

"In this day and age?" Vic questioned.

"There should be something. People like Lex don't evolve into computers willing to trust them."

"A second file!" Victor suddenly exclaimed. Oliver raised an eyebrow. "He should have back-ups. Back-ups that people have tendencies to forget to encrypt. Ones that are located on a flashdrive or hard-drive, stored in a vault if I'm right."

"Lex has vaults." Bart aided, pointing out the obvious.

"Lex also has reason to distrust having only one source of information. He'll keep a second in that vault." Canary chirped in, peering over the back of the couch, the tv previously having her attention.

"So, we just need to crack a vault?" Oliver summarised, questioning his team mates logical thinking.

"Okay, so I didn't say it was flawless, but it's something." Vic replied.

"Last resort." Oliver answered for them all. "Look for anything else first. We don't want to be pulling a vault out of Luthor walls ideally."

* * *

><p>"I was seconds away from unlimited access to Queen's loft when you called you know." She reigned in her temper again, one hand on the mouse, the other rubbing her tired eyes. She just wanted to go to sleep.<p>

"Which time? The first 20 you ignored?" The snark wasn't appreciated. Lex followed his words with his arms over his chest. Chloe couldn't help but compare. But he was nothing compared to Oliver.

… Ollie.

Oh how she liked to roll that nickname over her tongue. Ollie.

"I have to rebuild that now." she continued like he hadn't interrupted.

"What you have to do is not my problem Chloe, I just need results." Like always, the end justified the means.

Chloe finished her search later, presenting Lex with a verbal conclusion as he stood over her. He instructed a write-up of compromised files and the type of bug by the next night, then sent her to her room.

But as he sat back down at his computer, he opened up a file he'd been watching a lot recently. Chloe's penthouse camera, it seemed to be experiencing blank loops whenever things got interesting.

Lex leaned back in the chair, dialling a number he'd not wanted to call.

"_Urm, Hello?"_

"Mr Burke." Lex addressed him. He could almost hear the gulp.

"_Oh, umm. Luthor. It's like 5am." _The sleep addled brain was having trouble.

"I am aware. You'll meet me tomorrow at 10am, I have a job for you." This woke him up.

"_A job?"_

"If you're late, it goes to someone else." And with that he cancelled the call. Hanson Burke was little more than a teenager with dreams of MIT, but he knew his way around wire traps and audio/visual bugs. He'd deal with Chloe's cameras easily. And then… well, in all honesty Lex couldn't stand the kid, he hated giving him money even more. After this job, the kid may _expire_ his worth.

* * *

><p>Chloe final reached her old room at the grandiose hour of 4:38am. She sat herself onto the bed, but felt an ache. Lex was different tonight. Maybe the stress of losing more files. Maybe the late hour was getting to him too. But Lex was usually…<p>

…  
>Chloe felt her mind draw a blank.<p>

Lex was not usually like this was he?

But for the life of her she couldn't think of the answer.

But just what was Oliver doing with Lex's building records. Chloe dove for the bag, pulling out the phone. She accessed the photos, knowing her decision to keep it secret from Lex was best. The first came to her screen and she enlarged the image to read the details listed along the top.

It was definitely planning permission, Lex had applied for a property in downtown metropolis, near the docks. But why was Oliver interested in this. For starters, this couldn't have been obtained legally.

Corporate espionage probably. But Lex didn't have this property listed, well, not on any lists he'd allowed her to access.

So, this proposed two questions; One; how did Oliver know about this? Two; what did Lex have planned for this property?

She flipped to the next image, another document with structural details then a blueprint of the building from city hall.

"Chloe." Her eyes lifted, Lex in the doorway. He did no more than motion his head out of the door and she knew her night was not yet over. She set her phone back to the password protected screen and stood from the bed. She followed him to his room without a sound of complaint. She knew Lex. She knew his need. He was reclaiming what was his, ensuring she hadn't forgotten the 'mission' or fallen to pray to emotions for a more handsome man. She walked with him sharing no words, no emotion and no desire. He was laying his mark, nothing more.

But despite the number of times he'd done this before, this time she felt it to be wrong. Oliver's face came to her head.

If she said no though… if she declined him… he'd know something was wrong. And if he knew she felt for another man, if she felt _true emotion_ she didn't know what he'd do. She didn't want to. Her father had died to a Luthor hand, and if not for Bart's speed he would have been killed too. People she loved didn't stay around for long. She steeled herself with a breath. It was best not to let Lex know anything.

So, she stepped past him into his room as she held the door open.

Slowly her escape closed, she made the conscious decision to leave her emotions outside, sealing them with a click of the door.

* * *

><p>Chloe was back in her own room as soon as Lex's touch left her. Her silent tears slipped as she lifted the lifeless costume and extras from Lex's bedroom floor. She let her arms fall from the bundle as she finally found herself alone in her own room. She stood wearing nothing but the white lingerie she had hoped another man to see tonight. The dress slipped her fingers, the bracelets and jewellery clattering onto the heap.<p>

Since Lionel, she'd never had many morals, or ethics. Nothing was out of the question. If it was needed to get the job done, she did it. Her only line was something Lionel had crossed himself; she refused to hurt another, a slap and a punch for the worthy perhaps, but she would never kill.

She'd never been upset for cheating, never had reservations about anything she did with men.

But as the tears streamed endless down her cheeks, all she could think of was the horror she'd committed. Guilt. She actually felt guilt.

And she realised she had truly fallen for Oliver. The kind of all-consuming falling. The kind of fall you don't realise you've done until you fit rock bottom, and here she was, looking up from the pool of her tears, drowning in emotion . Barely even two dates with the man and she was captivated by him. And god damn it, she was even starting to believe him. He would still be there once he had her.

He wouldn't want her to leave as soon as he'd had his thrills like Lex. He wouldn't be using her for secrets, he wouldn't be some teenage crush that didn't see her, he wouldn't lie or cheat, he wouldn't forget a date or call in the middle of the night for sex.

He would be the gentleman, the love she had wanted since she developed her first crush, the ache that would never fade.

She'd turn in Arrow and she'd spend the rest of her life with Oliver.

Oh God, what was he doing to her?! She had never had the desire to make future plans and here she was, planning away her entire life. And she smelled like Lex, she noted repulsed by herself. She fought her way out of the underwear as fast as she could, scrubbing her body in the warmth of the showers rain, and under that spray, she finally let out the chocked sound of tears cry for what she'd done.

6am rolled around and she was still awake, she couldn't sleep at all. Her mind was filled with questions. Questions she'd never had to ask herself before. Should she tell Oliver? Should she stop seeing Arrow? Should she cut her ties to Queen?

Maybe she should just run, leave Lex. Let him throw whatever he had at her in anger, but eventually she'd crawl out of a hell hole and he'd leave her alone in some scum foreign town for another few years.

Did she regret making this deal with Lex?

In some ways she did… but she never would have met Oliver. And for the life of her she couldn't decide if that was a good or a bad thing.

Good, because she would never have had these feelings, she could continue on as she was without this burden. She'd feel no guilt, no love, no sickening butterflies when she saw a man. She'd continue as she always had been.

But bad. Bad because she'd never have the memories, and they were sweet memories. As much as the man infuriated her, as much as he'd driven her insane. She'd never been even a fraction as happy as she had been with him. He'd made her smile, he'd made her laugh, he'd held her like she was the most important thing in her life. He made her feel worthwhile. He made her feel like a princess, and she'd never even known a man could make her feel that way.  
>She sighed, thinking back to the phone.<p>

He was the perfect mix of right and wrong. He was handsome and sweet. He was arrogant and controlling. But he was damn perfect for her.

As strong as she could be, he broke down all her defences. He felt like such a sinfully desirable mistake, but then he wrapped his arms around her and there was nothing more that she needed or wanted in the world.

He had that bad boy pull on her sex drive too, and she could feel that mischievous streak when he smirked at her. He gave the rules the finger, he gave women the eyes and he walked into a room like he owned it. It was a power trip really. He could even cross the legal line and steal files from Lex, and she only got hotter for him.

The back of her mind wondered what else he had on Lex's files. And that little niggle turned into her sitting up and unlocking her phone again. She started scanning the same photo's trying to figure out what Lex was planning, but then she flipped to another one, one she hadn't realised she'd taken.

Lex had bought a property in Metropolis. No, wait. Not Lex. This was Oliver. It was right in the middle of the city.

She googled the location, bringing up a city map.

She was right, it was smack bang in the middle of the city. Dead centre really. It was some old loft apartment. The top floor of the tallest building in Metropolis. Hell, she bet he'd bought it for the view, he could probably see the entire city beneath him.

She flipped the next image on her phone, she wasn't disappointed, the story of this buiding continued. Oliver had paid to have access to the loft controlled by fingerprints, retina scans _and_ a password. As if one wasn't enough. Just what was Queen wanting to hide so badly?

He was forking out a hell of a lot for repairs too.

All which were meant to be installed before the week was up. If she wanted to get in and take a look, sooner would be better. In fact, now would be good. She was awake. No-one was there and she had nothing else to do.

Chloe dressed in a rush, she'd have to be back before 8am, just in case Lex was truly insane and enjoyed only 3 hours sleep per night. But as she pulled open her bedroom door, she found a guard on the other side, seated against the corridor. His head lifted from his newspaper to her.

"Mr Luthor instructed you were not to leave tonight." Prisoner… she'd never been prisoner to Lex.

"I'm just craving coffee." she lied. "I'm a caffeine addict." Her admittance came with a smile and shrug. But he shrugged it off himself.

"I can radio for someone to bring you one, but I'm instructed to not let you leave your room tonight."

Did Lex know something? Why the sudden need to have a guard keeping her in?

"Actually you know. My craving just passed." She smiled and closed the door again. How long had he been there?!

What was wrong with Lex?

Maybe he just thought she'd run because of the possible Lionel sighting… it was tempting.

She dropped herself back to the bed, so very tired but unable to find sleep. She had the demons of Lionel and guilt of Oliver circling her mind and she was so very exhausted. She wanted to sleep, she wanted to forget. She wanted to be that stupidly curious kid, filled with a false bravado and a sense of illogical power, she wanted to scream at herself to stop and keep living her life pining after Clark instead of trying to smash horns with the Luthors.

Why?

Why couldn't she control herself?

She could have been best friends with Clark, seen Lois everyday, spent years with her father… She could have even met Oliver outside of this twisted world. She could have had it _all_. But instead, she'd chased the big bad and been his tooth pick for years instead.

She closed her eyes again, but all she saw was Oliver asking question after question. Why was she with Lex? Why did she sleep with him? Why didn't she run? Why wouldn't she admit she loved him?

So sleep was now extremely out of the range of possibilities for tonight, well, _this morning_ would be more correct. If she couldn't sleep, she'd do the work Lex wanted from his computer and find out which files Arrow had primarily targeted, if any. She returned to the door, addressing the guard the second she stepped out.

"Yes, you can get someone to get me a coffee. Black, two sugars. And you can follow me into the study so I can finish working on Lex's files." She started walking from him before he could blink, but he dutifully picked up his paper and followed her, radioing as she did for her coffee order. She really didn't think he was serious about that, but apparently she had a new direct coffee line via the guards now.

* * *

><p>Lex came down at 9am to find Chloe living on nothing more than a caffeine rush and pile of croissants.<p>

"Have you been here all night?"

"More or less." she answered. He could tell she'd be snappy all day.

"I told you to sleep." Though he didn't seem angry at her disobeying his orders.

"I found out what the virus targeted." she simply answered. Lex rose an eyebrow, entirely interested in her finding and forgetting her disobedience. He crossed the floor swiftly and leaned onto the desk beside her, his eyes on the screen. "It hunted for files with three key words. "Lab", "Test" or "33.1", which I have no idea what that means. Some sort of code you use?"

"It's any meteor trials." he admitted.

"So they're hunting your facilities?"

"Seems to be." he agreed. "We'll talk later though, I need my office."

"Alright." She stood, her joints in her knees clicking as she did, she didn't realise quite how stiff she had become from sitting so long. "Is there… anything else you need me to do?"

He was about to tell her to sleep. But it was clear she was avoiding it.

"Yes. I've changed the password to my vault. Let me know how long it takes for you to crack it."

"Any particular reason?"

"I think we can safely say they won't be getting my electronic files from this computer." he complimented. "I just need to know my paper copies remain the same."

"Alright." she agreed.

"Take Darren." he instructed. She furrowed her brow, but complied. He probably wanted to make sure she didn't read anything when she cracked it.

Hours passed smoothly, she cracked the vault in just under an hour, Lex finished his meeting swiftly and insisted she spar with one of the guards or keep herself busy in other ways until the clock struck 5 and they left for his business at the opera.

* * *

><p>He opened her bedroom doors as she was fiddling with the zip of the dress. Simple and red. Nothing fancy, nothing special. Just a red dress flowing from shoulders to ankles.<p>

"You'll be happy to know Lionel has other arrangements for tonight." Now that _was_ something she was happy to hear.

"He won't be coming?" Lex stepped into the room without invite, batting her hands from the back zip and tugging it up for her as she spoke.

"No. But there are other matters to discuss."

"Let me guess, I'm playing assistant again, making sure you enjoy yourself rather than talk business."

"You're tired, so I'll forgive you." He didn't seem bothered at all though. He tugged the zip to a stop and stepped back from her. "You'll be driven back to Metropolis after we've finished our business." he insisted. "I suggest you sleep and then find our mystery man."

"I'm working on it Lex." She tried to not sound like she spoke but clenched teeth, but they both knew better. She opened the jewellery box and lifted out the matching necklace and ear-rings for the dress.

"There's something else." he began and she met hard set eyes in the mirror as she focussed on her hair and jewels. "The blur."

"The new headliner." she confirmed.

"I want him."

"You really don't appreciate any mystery do you?" She turned briefly to him, the necklace in hand.

"An honest man, an honest _saviour_ does not hide in shadows and behind costumes."

"A man with nothing to hide is not a man." she quoted back to him.

"He's working with Green Arrow, as I'm sure you are aware." He changed the topic slightly.

"He 'saved' me when we tried to catch Arrow with tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum." she answered.

"Well, he's now part of the deal."

"No, my deal was for Arrow and Arrow alone." she answered, her eyes struck on his mirror reflection, her hands pausing their process on twisting her hair up into its bun.

"I'm adding to it."

"You're not." she stated. "You said you were an honest man Lex. You remember the deal we shook on, and _this_ is not it." He leant back against the wall, challenging her. "Now, if you wish to make _another_ deal for this blur, I'm all ears, but my freedom is in exchange for Arrow and him _alone_."

"Point taken." he agreed. "So what do you want Chloe?"

"You're the one wanting this deal Lex, not me."

"Either way you'll do it. Whether it's for free or not, is your choice." he commanded and he had her locked in her position.

Slowly, Chloe finished her hair and turned back to Lex.

"I do this after Arrow. He comes first and is main priority." Lex inclined his head in a small graceful nod. "I want out of my commitments. To come when you call etcetera."

"If you're not doing the job until after Arrow, you won't get your payment until after Arrow." he simply spoke. "And by then you'll already be free."

"There's nothing more I need from you after that." she summed.

"Then you'll do it for free."

"No." she stated and words tumbled from her hidden Luthor-esque dark side before she could stop them. "I want you to cure Lionel." For this, Lex was truly surprised. A kind of shock he'd never had from anyone ever. He could have never have seen this coming.

"You want me to cure my father's incureable liver cancer."

"Nothing's incureable with the right medicine." she punctuated. "Besides, I want him to have a long miserable life rotting in a jail cell."

"Chloe," Lex scoffed, her intentions clearer, but still unexpected. "The second my father goes to jail, or even a court room, bad things will keep happening to you."

"Not if I'm free of that contract." she challenged. "As soon as I get my life back, I can send the evidence against Lionel straight to the police. He'll go down for years."

"That evidence doesn't exist anymore Chloe."

"What do you mean?"

"He destroyed everything, and as soon as he finds you looking for it again, he'll have you killed."

"Then here's another deal." She stood straight, trying not to look as distraught as she felt. For years she'd planned on using the evidence of his crimes against him, and now, there was nothing. "I find the blur, and you put your father in jail for the rest of his life, for any choice of the dirty secrets and skeletons in his closet."

"I think I can live with that." he agreed.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Oh Chloe...<p>

Ready for some Opera?


	26. What Other People Know

Late posting and I apologize for that, but I have a damn good reason. So, my head gets better, the headache stop and i'm all lovely, and then my laptop decides to have a moment of crashing on me. Not overheating, not any virus. Just... hey, let's crash in the middle of all this lovely work. So... I was less than pleased. Thankfully all the important stuff (inc fanfiction writing) was saved on a memory stick (Thank god for paranoia) and i still have everything i've done. But my laptop thinks it's perfectly fine to blue screen and crash whenever it wants. Which could be every 5 days, or every 5 minutes... so, it's touch and go.

I did a full system restore to factory settings (which meant losing all my iTunes plays and playlists- to which I raise my middle finger to) and so far, nothing has happened which is adverse to my desires. If anything does happen. It's new laptop time... which is so sad, because I ADORE this one.

Anyhoo, happier note: Reviews are lovely. People are liking the feelings that are going on, which is always good! I see I touched a few tippy-toes with her sleeping with Lex, but do not worry little darlings, thing always have to work out well, it's a law for fanfiction writers (well, it should be).

* * *

><p><strong>Previously; <strong>Chloe played Cinderella and had to run out on her Prince Charming right as things were getting heated. Lex worked her to the bone, reclaimed his possession over her physically, and sat a security guard outside her door.  
>Lex also hired a tech genius to rewire her cameras in the penthouse and struck another deal with her for the Blur.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Six; What Other People Know.<span>

* * *

><p>"<em>Looks like I'm not the only one playing with fire.<em>" - Lex Luthor (Season Three, Episode Memoria)

* * *

><p>Lex was right, Lionel had stayed home to roast puppies or boil babies, whatever he did in his free time, but Chloe wasn't fully capable of relaxing until the curtain rose and voices started to pour into the theatre. Lex was enjoying it, he always did. Chloe however, she just remembered Lionel's love of it, and instinctively took to hating it. He'd ruined a lot of things for her.<p>

Italian wasn't one of her languages, but it had a cousin in Spanish so she could pick up words here or there, making out the story line and predicting an operatic ending before the first act would finish. The only reason she was here was for Lex's business associates. A lot of deep pockets enjoyed the opera, it must be something that came hand in hand with arrogance and snobbery too. Three hours and two interludes were her immediate future, and those interludes wouldn't be a reprieve as she wished. No, she'd be pushed back into working for the business world, shaking the blood stained hands of Lex's associates and smiling to the wives they'd cheated on too many times to count.

She slumped back into her seat and turned her attention from the stage to the audience. People-watching was a fantastic hobby. Like the man in the box next to her, he was already half asleep, his wife and her… sister possibly… were very much so engaged in the play before them. She cast her eyes down to the seating below. One couple were cuddled in so close it was a wonder they had room to breathe. Another group sat further along, father, mother and teenage son. She smiled at his misery. He was tugging at his sleeves, annoyed at being dragged out and away from his friends. But then she watched his eyes track towards the family in front of them. Of course, it all made sense. The little princess to another rich family had caught his eyes, and from the looks between them, they were having a little tryst behind their parents back. Oh, it was Romeo and Juliet all over again. Poor kids had no idea how sorrowful their story would be.

All, just proof that love was stupid.

Her own love bug was demanding she find Oliver. She caved to its demands, lifting her eyes to the boxes again. She circled around them until she found the man looking as dashing as ever, his attention more on how the liquid in his glass swirled when he turned his wrist than what was happening below. But he wasn't alone, a beautiful woman was sat next to him, rolling her eyes at his preoccupation with the alcohol and she leaned in to whisper something which drew a smile from him. Jealousy bubbled as she saw her features more clearly. Tess. As much as Chloe knew Tess was over Oliver, it still jolted something inside her for Tess to be the one to make him smile.

Again, proof that love was an idiotic archaic concept. Lust had become this decade's love, and you didn't need to like someone to lust after them. Which begged the all-important question; was Tess lusting after Oliver? Or was their relationship really just all banter and no bite? She cast her eyes up again, but his attention was no longer on the glass. No, that was all forgotten, his lips curving as she became the centre of his attention. His eyes slammed straight through her, those feeling stirring all over again. They made her feel hot, made her feel naked, made her feel like she was the only other person in the entire hall. They were powerful eyes. She broke contact, and when she flickered a testing gaze back up his was still staring at her, a victory sip of his choice of drink passing his lips.

* * *

><p>"She's not a piece of meat." Tess spoke, her gaze still on the play as she broke Oliver's thoughts. "You keep staring at her like that and you'll drown in your own drool." Oliver chuckled quietly.<p>

"Just watch your damn opera. I'm sure someone will do something interesting soon and you'll miss it." he replied. Tess grinned.

"And now I see why you insisted upon coming tonight." she mused. "Usually, you let me go alone." She turned to him. "I think I prefer the usual method."

He grinned and broke his watch of Chloe to turn to her.

"Trust me, once I have her from Lex, I'll never come to another opera again." he promised.

"Unless you're chasing the next girl." she commented.

"And if there isn't a 'next girl'?" he addressed her.

"Then we should alert the press. The legendary playboy has finally seriously considered settling down." But her joke faded as she thought back to his behaviour towards her. "Jesus, you love her don't you."

"Is it _that_ obvious?" She was the second woman to sum his feelings for Chloe so easily. It was becoming annoying to be pinned down so easily and quickly. Sure, he could deny it, but why… it was how he felt.

"A woman knows." Tess grinned.

"Well, not the right woman." His eyes found her again, she was back to watching the people below her, her interest on some teenage girl.

"You should tell her."

"I can handle this relationship myself thank you Mercy."

"Oh please. There's a reason all of your other 'relationships' didn't last Oliver. Speaking as an old 'girlfriend' there are a few things you could definitely work on."

Curious, he turned back to Tess.

"Like what?"

"Like dropping everything when you get a business call. Like your ego. Your need to be right."

"I told you; it was an important call," He'd saved a pregnant woman's life that night from that call. "You only don't like my ego because yours is bigger, and I _was_ right all of those times."

"Your need to be in control," she added.

"That was something we both battled over." he retorted. "I remember it didn't always lead to bad things." He smirked.

"Your ability to turn everything sexual." He chuckled. If only Mercy knew Chloe had him beat several times over with her mind.

"That was _never_ a bad thing."

He saw Mercy's lips turn up, betraying her point.

"Okay, well, you always had that working for you; you definitely know what you're doing with a woman." He grinned, but she wiped it clean. "But not with a _girlfriend_." she continued.

"I imagine the mechanics aren't that different." he charmed with a grin.

"And _outside_ of the bedroom?" she pressed

"Well, it's a learning curve for both of us." Besides, he was doing quite well so far.

"Then take some advice." she offered. "Tell her how you feel before you sleep with her." His eyes crossed to her. How did she know he hadn't slept with her already? She laughed, trying to quiet the sound as she remembered where she was. "Please, you look like you're going to explode every time you see her." she scoffed and turned herself back to the stage.

* * *

><p>As the curtain fell for the first interlude, Chloe couldn't have been happier to stand. Oliver's gaze was hot upon her, like stalking his prey. Lex lifted her hand onto his arm and led her to the bar, where the business would start to flow. But before she could reach any alcohol the first suit came towards Lex.<p>

"Ah, Lex." The man greeted, then he turned oh so minutely to show a polite character to her, however fake it was. "And this must be Miss Lang." She ignored the boiling of her blood. Of course Lex had invited Lana. She'd just been cast in the role at the last minute.

"Miss Lang was sadly ill this evening, this is my business associate Charlotte Maine." Lex was quick to answer for her.

"Ah, well, it's nice to meet you." But his facial expression said it was just bothersome. "Lex," He nudged his head away from her. "If you have a spare moment." Lex nodded and turned to Chloe, ready to give her the brush off.

"I'll be at the bar." she spoke before he could, detaching herself and walking into the mass of people. She hated being Lex's replacement doll.

It wasn't longer than a quick drink before Lex found her again, steering her towards one of the seating booths and disclosing the real reason for her presence tonight.

"Luke Michaelson." Lex began, labelling the man wedged between the bar and big breasted blonde that looked like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. "CEO of Star Enterprises."

"Star Enterprises?" she questioned, circling the rim of her martini with her pointed finger as she scoped over him. Tall, dark haired, that look of corruption over him. "Don't they specialise in robotics?"

Lex pulled his lips into that quirk she was so accustomed to seeing when he was plotting against someone. It wasn't out of place.

"Metal work and engineering primarily, but yes, they have been known to dabble in robotics on the side." he admitted, unbuttoning his jacket as he spread out along the seating. "Originally a Japanese firm, but it traded hands."

"Let me guess, you want your hands to be the next ones it falls into." Lex smirked, confirming her ideas.

"Mr Michaelson will be getting a silent partner soon, yes." The honesty seemed dark. "He just doesn't know it yet."

"So my job with him is what exactly?" she enquired, her gaze back to the shady businessman he was labelling.

"It appears he needs a little persuasion." Lex took a sip from whatever drink he'd acquired. Chloe didn't need more words to read between, these were plenty.

"You need me to find out what you can blackmail him with." She rolled her eyes. Lex's hands were getting dirtier these days. He wasn't even trying to scrub them clean.

"The blonde." Lex highlighted, nodding to the bar again. Chloe turned to the model curling into Luke Michaelson, the dark purple gown showcasing her figure enough to draw envy. "She's been Luke's 'girl' for almost a year. She wants a ring, he wants to keep his money." Lex chuckled. "She'll give you all you need to know."

"Fine." Chloe agreed, taking the gold-digger into her sight. But Lex's hand came to her arm before she could take lead.

"By tonight Chloe." he spoke in warning and with a sharp nod she set herself free.

* * *

><p>There wasn't a lot of work necessary for Chloe, gold-diggers loved to talk, they loved gossip, and they loved to complain. Chloe followed the woman into the ladies room and struck up a conversation about how much of a disappointment her date was and that was it. The woman was like an overflowing brook, spilling out words before she could think.<p>

"I mean seriously!" Gabriella was her name. "I beg him to take me out somewhere nice, somewhere I can dress up, and we can have some time _together_ and THIS was his answer!" Gabriella pouted for the mirror, laying another stripe of lipstick across her botoxed lips. "The opera?! What the hell right? Like I want to spend all my night listening to some women wail in another language."

Chloe probably wouldn't have to speak at all, this woman was certainly vocal enough for them both. "Seriously right, I'm not asking for too much, just a night somewhere special, right?"

"Right." Chloe echoed.

"I mean he leaves me alone with his stupid kids all day while he's working, and like I don't know he's seducing all his secretaries, and then he comes home and I'm meant to smile and cook his fucking dinner. Do I look like a damn slave?"

"He's sleeping with his secretaries?"

"Yeah, he changes them often enough, got one pregnant last I heard, but he's claiming it's not his, won't pay out a damn dime." The blonde faced the mirror again, adjusting her cleavage in the dress. "Not that I can blame him. I mean, the stupid tramp should have kept her legs closed. But once we're married she'll make for an easy divorce, and can you think of the payload?! I mean, he got another woman pregnant." She laughed, turning back to Chloe. "Stupid man, he won't know what's hit him."

"No. He won't." Chloe definitely agreed.

"And I'll be in the Bahamas, living it up on his dime, all because he couldn't keep it in his pant-"

"I should be getting back." Chloe politely excused herself. Gabriella just looked at her like she had no idea what had happened. But she shrugged Chloe off like last seasons fashion and went back to her appearance.

That certainly was easy. And she was so thankful, she was about to drop dead from exhaustion. But… she didn't really want to go back to Lex right now. She detoured to the bar. It was pretty much empty, no-one wanting to miss the show. Except her. She ordered another martini and settled herself against the table top. But her next interruption was most wanted.

"What, am I invisible now?" The chuckle that came from behind her was like coming home. She relaxed into his embrace easily. She hadn't even seen him at the bar. She was… oh she was just tired.

"Sorry." she whispered, closing her eyes as her wrapped his arms around her. "I'm just…" Tired didn't cut it anymore, she was like the walking dead "Really really in need of sleep." He turned her slightly in his arms, allowing her the curve of his shoulder to rest her head on. She accepted easily, no fight left in her.

"What happened?"

"My job." She couldn't help but grumble.

"Didn't sleep much either myself." She opened her eyes. He still looked fabulous. "I couldn't stop thinking about you." Despite the line and her laugh, she couldn't help feel the warmth from them. "Don't take this the wrong way," he began, and she got fully prepared to be offended. "But did you get _any_ sleep?" She lifted her eyes to his. "As much as I love a good thriller, you're starting to make me think zombies are after me." She laughed, she knew she looked like hell.

"Well, not all of us can look like you." she wittily replied. "But… I think I got a good 10 minutes on the ride here." He rose an eyebrow. 10 minutes?! "I… _really_ need a bed."

"I happen to have a bed." he offered, his lips next to her ear, a whisper blowing across her neck. She could imagine the cheeky grin to accompany the words.

"Secret fantasy of sleeping with a zombie?" she questioned with humour. He chuckled again, she was really enjoying that sweet sound, and she felt him steer her into a seating booth at the back of the bar, sliding along the seat and tugging her along with him.

"That wasn't what I meant Goldilocks." he chastised. "I'm just simply saying I like having you close, and I could do with catching up on some sleep too." He brushed her hair from her face again, liking the way his skin tingled when he touched her.

"Wait." Confusion was swirling inside her brain, but she liked where she was, so instead of sitting up to clear her mind, she stayed against his shoulder, letting him wrap and arm around her. "So… you're proposing we sleep in the same bed, but without 'sleeping' with each other?"

"Is that a problem?" Nothing was a problem with his thumb rubbing those tiny circles on her shoulder, she could almost feel all the tension spinning off of her. She could fall asleep right here, it would be so comfy.

"I just… I don't see why?" She turned her chin slightly, looking to his eyes again, they were staring back, shining with passion. "My bed works perfectly fine, and has significantly less sexual tension in it." He smiled, dropping a kiss to her forehead soothing the confusion. She was a practical person, a logical thinker. Romance was a bit of a blur for her. So, he'd present a logical argument.

"Well, did you know it's scientifically proven couples sleep significantly better when with their partner?"

"Couple." she rolled the word experimentally over her tongue. "Is that what we are?"

"I would hope so."

"hmmm, wasn't there also a study saying that one in three people prefer sleeping alone?"

"We're the two out of the three that don't." he stated, his confidence light and soulful. "But… if you don't think you can control yourself around me… I understand."

"What if I happened to disclose I was in the 31% of Americans who prefer to sleep naked?"

"You're not." Again, the confidence was strong but playful. "But, speaking as one of those Americans, there is always the option of wearing something on a one off occasion."

"Really? You sleep naked?"

"Usually." he admitted, no shame.

"I'd hate to disrupt your routine." She laughed.

"I think I'm safer clothed. I have a feeling you'd try and take advantage of me."

"What makes you think clothing would stop me?" she whispered darkly, but a yawn quickly followed.

"I suppose I'd have to rely on your tiredness tonight." He chuckled.

"Well, maybe you'd be safe this time."

"So you agree?" The thought of having her close, of holding her all night, or having her in his arms. His heart was soaring.

"I suppose it doesn't make any difference to me which bed I sleep in." she acquiesced. "But it depends if Lex needs me for anything else tonight."

"Ah, I see." he spoke. Chloe opened her eyes, sitting to look at him. That tone was not healthy, neither was that expression.

"What's with the face?"

"What face?"

"That face you're wearing."

"That's just my normal face." He chuckled.

"No, that's a judgement face." He sighed, urging her back to his shoulder, she nudged herself from his hand.

"I'm just simply wondering what Lex could possibly need you for. He's already dragged you off to an Opera- which you clearly hate- for business. Not to mention he's worked you overnight. And now he's going to deny you sleep again to finish something?"

"You make it sound worse than it is."

"Because it's as bad as it sounds." He laughed. But she relaxed into him again retaking her spot in his embrace.

"I told you about Green Arrow." she began. "Well, he's not exactly playing fair. I was up until 5 just undoing the mess he made of Lex's system." Suddenly Oliver didn't feel so good about their plan last night. He hadn't thought of the consequences to her. "And then Lex wanted to make sure it couldn't happen again. So… I've been on a computer since I left you." she summed, another yawn ripping from her, her small hand lifting up to cover her lips. She looked almost dead on her feet, even moving was an ache for her, and it was all his fault. No, not all. Lex had been the one ordering her around.

"And he still drags you out to this?"

"It's not his fault. It's Arrow. If he hadn't stupidly tried to steal Lex's files, I wouldn't be in this mess." Her words echoed his thought, spirally guilt into him.

"How about I make it up to you?" His fingers twisted through hers. "Tonight, we fix your brain with some sleep. Tomorrow night, I'll cook dinner, we'll watch a film and take things easy."

"What are you cooking? And what film?" she fired back at him.

"Anything you want, and anything you want." His smile kissed the top of her head.

"No fish." she stated. "Not a big fish fan." It was the smell that put her off. The taste she loved… but she could never get past the smell.

"Alright." he accepted. "But what _do_ you like?"

"…How good of a chef are you?" she questioned, prying open her eyes again and looking to him.

"Anything you want." he repeated slowly and quietly.

"Steak." As she spoke she read his face. "Medium rare." He didn't flinch, he was confident in his ability to cook anything. "Seasoned roast potatoes and parsnip with a crisp to them, but fluffy on the inside." No challenge too big. "Carrots, soft but not squishy." No challenge too small. "Red wine of whatever choice you fancy."

"I can handle that." He grinned.

"I'm not done yet." Her smile stretching to her eyes again. "You should know I find dessert the best part of any meal, so, if you can handle it…"

"Any request you like." He was a little smug about his talents. In fact, he rather enjoyed cooking, not that he often had time to do it for himself.

"How about I leave that one for you? There's no way you can go wrong. But…" Her eyes sparkled again. "If you want to go right, there should be some element of chocolate in it, or on it, or with it."

"I can manage that."

"Need I say coffee?"

"I think since it's 90% of your blood plasma, it would be criminal to forget."

"That's what I like to hear." And just as she was curling back into his embrace, her name had her bolting sharply upright.

"Chloe!" She flashed Oliver a quick panic, he submitted, letting her dash off as she wanted too.

"Lex." she answered already stood from the booth as he was turning the corner to them. "I was just coming to find you." she lied.

"You've been half an hour."

"That would be my fault." Oliver stood, interrupting the vicious eyes. "I seem to have monopolised your date."

"We should go." Chloe begged.

"Queen." The word held so much, the goodbye, the dislike, the envy. Lex managed several steps before he turned to her, pausing in the empty corridor. "What was that about?"

"Just winding up Queen." she replied, but his eyes cast a disapproving judgement to her.

"It looked like he was more under_ your_ skin than the other way around."

"All part of the rouse." she lied effortlessly.

"Queen may talk smooth, but it's all talk Chloe."

"I know." She felt like a little kid told off by her father for liking the kid on the wrong side of the tracks.

"Men have said exactly the same things to you as he has, and you know how it ends. They walk away without a care for how they leave you."

She sobered her happy mood.

"Samsung wouldn't tell anybody his secret Lex. He told his _wife_." Lex wasn't exactly surprised… but mildly shocked were words she could label him with. "If you want Queen's secrets, then it needs to appear that I'm as loyal to him as a wife." Shock turned to pride. He was truly impressed. Chloe had taken the role like a deep cover mission, she even had him believing the act. His smile spoke worlds of corruption, but he'd bought into her. She breathed again once they resumed walking. She couldn't believe just how much she relied on lies recently.

Just as they were returning to the booth, she paused, stopping Lex with her. "Lex. Do you need me tonight?"

"Have plans?"

"Queen." she simply said the name.

"I suppose what I had planned will wait. But bring me something back Chloe."

Without waiting for her, he parted the entrance and stepped into the box.

* * *

><p>By 9pm, she was steeping from her car and into Oliver's death trap of an elevator. Seriously, she would have preferred to climb a rope up instead of riding in that thing. But the sight that awaited her on the other side was worth the trip.<p>

"Well, what do you know, Oliver Queen _does_ own more than just suits." She mirrored his smile, crossing over to his open arms. Maybe his feelings of wanting to be near her weren't so abstract after all, she felt warmer around him, she felt happier, she felt like she could conquer the world. In his arms like this, she was certainly understanding the allure of having someone else near.

She felt his chest rumble as his laughter floated over her head. He looked beautiful, even dressed down. A plain white shirt and some loose black joggers sitting low on his hips. Oh, those wide shoulders, those strong arms. Even through the grip of sleep, she still found lust rising. And how easy it would be to break those barriers.

If only she would have the energy to enjoy it.

There was always the second option; morning sex.

"Alright, com'on Goldilocks. Before you fall asleep on me." He lifted her from the hug, her legs wrapping around him as he walked them to the stairs. "Now, we agreed no funny business."

"You agreed." she corrected, but curled into his hold to rest, not seduce. "And… if you do need to sleep naked to get comfortable. I promise I won't complain." Okay, so her plan wasn't to seduce, but it didn't mean she couldn't tease.

He held onto her all the way up until the bedroom. She turned in his arms. The room was big to say the least. Decorated in varieties of cream and pale blue. Distinctly male. She wriggled from his arms to snoop, almost second nature to her. He let her, leaning against the doorframe watching her in fascination as she explored his room. Her fingers found the photo of his parents by a huge boat, he was barely a child, held in his mothers arms.

He wasn't a man of many personal things. He had a few ornaments, but mostly whatever little he had had practical use. The photo seemed to be the only part of him that was… him.

Maybe they had more in common than she thought. She had nothing more than an old photo of her parents stashed behind the battery in her phone to resemble her personal life.

"So how does this work?" she asked, turning back to him. "We each choose a side and stick to it?" She waved across the bed, feeling slightly nervous. She didn't know what to do. Sex, she understood and knew. But… actually sleeping with another man, it just didn't compute with her brain. Oliver smiled and crossed from his previous position to wrap his arms around her again.

"We could do that. But there'd be no point." She rose an eyebrow to him. "You'd just end up cuddling me on whatever side I choose." he answered cockily. She laughed.

"I'm not the cuddling kind." she disagreed.

"I think we both know you are." His hands went to her jacket, sliding down the zipper and sliding it off her arms.

"I think this is all a ploy to cover up the fact that _you_ are in fact a cuddler."

"Possible." he allowed. "I guess we'll never know."

"Well, if we end up together in the night, I think that would be a clear sign that you're a closet cuddler."

"Or, maybe you just couldn't resist me." He winked and unwrapped the scarf from her. She rolled her eyes. But the bed was looking seriously more tempting than Oliver at this point, and that was indeed a bad sign. "Go on, get into bed. I've got a quick phone call, then I'm all yours." With a quick press of his lips to hers- hardly anything resembling what she wanted- his hands slipped from contact and he stepped from the room.

Chloe picked up her snooping, having a quick flick through drawers and his wardrobe. She didn't know if she was looking for something or just looking for the sake of the hunt. She pushed open the only other door in the room finding the bathroom. And it certainly was lovely, everything looked new. Well, with money like Queen, she supposed the answer to limescale was to buy an entire new suite. Though, she had to admit, that shower looked fantastic. Far too many buttons for it to be logical for human use, but being a shower girl rather than favouring baths, she certainly liked the idea of this. Lex didn't have one like this…

She turned back to the room, unbuttoning the blouse as she went. So, she may have gone home and changed into the red underwear set that made her look like a million dollars, she may happen to desire to sleep in her underwear tonight, but that was entirely by chance. She smiled to herself and slipped the blouse from her body, the cold air welcoming her with a chill. The slacks followed shortly and she turned herself for the mirror before her. She looked priceless.

Chloe settled into the bed on the side closest to the door, ingrained habits of running still not quite dissolved yet, and shuffled down the duvet.

It was wonderful, the crisp cold sheets were already warming under her body heat, the mattress curving to her shape, if heaven was a bed, this would be it. Then again, in her state of tiredness, she'd probably say the same thing about a park bench.  
>Oliver reappeared as she was tugging the bobble from her hair, letting it fall around her shoulders again. He paused in the doorway.<p>

"What?" she asked, noting his expression.

"That's what you're wearing to bed?"

"Problem?"

"No, that's… that's perfectly fine." Hell, he was going to hell. He should not be thinking of stripping her and fucking her on his bed right now. She was sleep deprived, and tired, and whatever she decided to sleep in was entirely her choice… and… Oh god, why did she have to look so tempting in that damn red bra?

"If it's going to be a problem…" She left the statement hanging, moving the duvet off her and making to stand. Her play was the tip to the ice-berg, the duvet slipping from her to show the slim stomach, the curvy hips, the matching panties. Chloe couldn't have stopped him even if she tried, he literally knocked her over onto the bed, his lips against hers in a dark urgency. His hands were on her before she could stabilise herself.

Okay, so she may have had some ulterior motive with the lingerie, but this was not in the plan, she didn't expect to become the gazelle to this lion's pounce, however lust-struck he was. She'd expected maybe a few teasing remarks, maybe make the whole situation_ harder _for him. But, this… Don't get her wrong, she was loving it. But she knew all too soon it would all come to end and _she'd_ be the one left high and dry. But, sense wasn't coming back anytime soon and she was all for playing along. Her fingers snuck under the shirt, splaying over the sleek muscles, begging for more.

And he gave.

Oh boy, did he give.

Like the sudden rush of a song's beat dropping, he was in her blood, his hands on her body in all the right places. His tongue danced with hers in a skilful lust-drunk motion, he was pulling her closer, arching her back to have her skin flush to him.

Clearly she'd been wrong about sleep being her nemesis tonight, because there was no longer any tiredness in her head, nothing at all but the thought of being with him. That warm sensation that came before sex filled her swam in her veins like predatory sharks. She'd lusted too long, they called. They wanted release. Her nerves were sparking on edge as his hands memorised her shape. Her blood pounded in her ears, her pulse; a hammer against skin. She wanted it, she could feel it, breathe it. It was taking her over.

Who cared about control, who cared about counting dates, who cared about falling. Chloe wanted _him_ right now, nothing more nothing less. She returned the fire in the kiss, not knowing how long she'd have before Oliver's brain started to function again and he remembered their deal. But even as her fingernails scratched lightly at his back in the hypnotism of passion, he didn't loosen his touch on her. He pawed her breast through the lace of the bra. But as the first sound of pleasure slipped her parted lips, the spell broke.

He crashed against her, muttering curses to himself. She couldn't help but laugh softly, stroking her fingers through his soft hair as he cursed himself.

"You're actually going to kill me." he murmured to her.

"It wouldn't be intentional." She laughed. "Besides, I'm not even trying." He lifted his head to her, the lust not under control yet.

"Alright." And he pushed off her to stand. She propped herself up onto her elbows, wondering what his next move would be. His next move was delicious. His hands went to his shirt, tugging the clothing from his torso. Oh, the man had turned the tables in that one move, she was just about ready to pounce herself. "Arms up Goldilocks." She smirked but complied. He swiftly covered her with the still warm shirt. It was big enough to cover her underwear entirely. "Now sleep?" With the realisation of sleep, it seemed the tiredness flooded back again, a yawn breaking free. Oliver smiled and flipped off the light, the glow from the moon the only illumination for the darkness. She watched him cross to the other side of the bed as she settled herself back in. But as soon as he was under the covers, his arms were back on her, pulling her to him. Chloe gave no fight, taking his body like a human shaped pillow. She curved her figure to his, her leg over one of his, her head on his shoulder as he cuddled her close. Yes, Oliver was a hugger. And she had no objection at all to that fact.

Chloe felt strange for so many reasons as she lay with him. She'd never had a man hold her in bed. She'd never shared a bed with a man she hadn't previously fucked. Then again, she'd never felt anything like what Oliver made her feel.

"Sleep." he ordered, feeling her eyes on his face.

"It feels weird." she admitted in the cover of darkness.

"You'll get used to it." He smiled at her. Her face was bathed in the pale blue light of the moon. She looked beautiful, not at all as dangerous as he knew she was.

"What happened with your shoulder?" Her fingers ghosted over the bruise she knew how he'd received.

"Altercation with an office chair." he spoke. But despite knowing it to be a lie, she didn't hear a lie in his voice. Impressive.

"I hope he left worse off."

"I couldn't do anything at the work place. I'm waiting until he leaves so I can ambush him." he played along, his fingers playing with her hair as she relaxed against him.

"Sounds like a plan. Crowbar or wrench?"

"I'm thinking just fists. Keep it natural." He chuckled softly and rolled her into him the slightest amount to kiss her lips. "Sleep Chloe." But as she closed her eyes, listening in the night as each partners breathing slowed and relaxed, she remained awake.

There was some part of her birthed from survival instincts that made it difficult to sleep in unfamiliar territories. So she lay awake, her finger barely touching him as she traced invisible circles on his chest.

Tomorrow was the third date. Tomorrow, he'd cave and she'd finally find the release from the drug he was shooting into her system with each look. Tomorrow, she could continue the job. But tonight, tonight she'd lay back washed with all the love she felt, all the giddiness and teenage fairytale romance hopes she held and she'd let herself dream.

* * *

><p><em>Chloe knew what was to transpire before it happened, she'd been in this place a thousand times before. Every time she felt the slightest resemblance of happiness, her mind threw her back to this place. <em>

_She hated this place. _

_It wasn't just because of the dirty, rotten, cheap, motel smell. It wasn't because of the neighbours screaming at each other night and day. It wasn't the old tv, ragged sheets or plastic telephone by the bed._

_It was the first telephone call, the second call, the tv, and then the third call._

_It was all Lionel. _

_She'd taken the opportunity to run whilst he was out of town, naturally his trip had been cut short and his temper was even shorter. The first call had already been and gone as she stood now. It told her to come back to him willingly and nothing worse than a lashing would happen. It told her if she didn't, she'd severely regret it. She'd ignored it. _

_But Lionel knew exactly where she was and he wasn't wasting his time collecting her himself. No, this time he was teaching her obedience. And it was a hard lesson for her._

_This time though… it finally got stomped down. _

_Chloe turned to the tv, it would be turned on soon, it would speak of the horror she hated. Like always the dream played out as usual. The call of the telephone would break the eerie silence, telling her to turn on the news. And she would, and the misery would shatter her, the false hope would attempt to build her back up, and then she'd go to the morgue to confirm the story she never wanted to ever hear told. Yes, she learned her lesson on this day. She didn't disobey Lionel again. Everything clicked into place after this day. The beatings stopped because she stopped resisting, the mental punishments became training, the lessons he'd long to teach took hold and she became the daughter he'd never had. Obedient to his every word, but never did she smile. Not until Lex started dropping by._

_The phone call came, the shrill breaking up the argument she could hear through the thin walls. She knew it would be Lionel on the other end. But like in all the dreams, she still answered, she still asked who it was._

"_Turn on the news." And the line died. Chloe held onto the dead phone even as she turned, clicking on the old box that had been called a tv once. It took three seconds to acknowledge the turn on, another five to add audio to the visual. When she found the news, the lady was just wrapping up another story. Chloe felt the cold chill descend before the woman even started on the report. She knew the words off by heart._

"_Luthorcorp employee Gabe Sullivan was found dead this evening, his car overturned on Maiben Bridge in Smallville, Kansas. Emergency services pronounced him dead on arrival, evidence of drunk driving clear in the vehicle. Alana Cullin has more on the story at nine." The same hope tried to grip her, the possibility it was all a bluff, a lie, a hoax. But, there was that pit at the bottom on her stomach that echoed the fact: she'd killed her father. She was responsible._

_Chloe was as tearful as the first time she'd dreamt of this, the speeding drive to Metropolis morgue proving the facts as they were. Lionel had had her father killed, all because she couldn't follow his orders. Chloe pulled out drawer 21, her father's face the first thing she saw. Cuts, bruises and tears to his delicate features. She crumbled beneath him, the cold shaky breaths resonating the truth. _

_He was dead. _

_He was truly dead. _

_The guard tailing her knelt before her, a phone in his outstretched hand. Chloe didn't take it, so the guard put it on speakerphone, Lionel's voice filling the empty morgue._

"_You'll be back at the mansion composed and prepared to continued our agreement before sunrise."_

"_Never!" she spat. But like always, Lionel's next words wiped the never from her mind._

"_I had hoped you wouldn't say that Miss Sullivan. Your cousin has been taking your vanishing act rather hard, I do hope her Uncle's death won't drive her to drink." The threat was there; he could do it again. He could kill Lois. He probably already had someone outside her house. "Sunrise." he spoke in reminder, dark and callous and the call finished._

_Chloe sat on the floor of the morgue, the guard leaving without a care for her state. _

_She knew she went back. She yelled every curse she could think of at him, she didn't eat for a week afterwards, all because of his haunting words that silenced her tirade. "You violated our agreement. If you hadn't, your father could still be alive and well. You have no-one to blame but yourself." The words echoed, spinning her mind. Her fault. It was all her fault._

Chloe woke in a cold sweat, mere hours after arriving at Oliver's apartment, sleep was entirely off the menu. She ran a hand down her face. Why? Why tonight?

Okay, so she had an idea why tonight. She was finally happy, and by all logic of life, that had to be wiped clear with all the pain she held down.

She looked over to Oliver in the darkness, his hands were still around her, still holding her close, but he had stayed asleep by some miracle. She slipped from the bed as quietly and softly as she could. Coffee called, as it so often did. She glimpsed back to the soundless man. He was perfect… she was broken; she didn't deserve him. She was just cashing in a few of the good deeds she'd committed in her long life, she'd have him for a little while, and then things would fall apart. That was just the way.

She padded barefoot down the stairs, catching her reflection. She looked so different. She looked like she belonged to someone. His shirt was riding low on her, almost to her knees, the polo neck dipping into the cleavage as well. Just how big _was_ Oliver? Those muscles needed their own shirt size it seemed. Not that she was complaining. With a smile she headed for the kitchen, flipping on the lights as she went, already having the place memorized. But as she drew closer, she saw a light coming from under Oliver's study. Had he left the light on?

Lex _had_ told her not to come back empty handed.  
>Chloe stood looking at the door while she thought. Her picklock was upstairs, but if she went back, she risked waking him. She supposed he might keep his key nearby, she could look for it. She set the coffee maker to start while she started her hunt. She checked the cabinets and empty jars or tins. Not in the kitchen. Maybe he kept it in the living room, but then she had another thought… if he'd left the light on, could he have left the door unlocked?<br>True enough, with a push of the door she was free into his office. But all the papers were gone from the desk, no laptop, no notes. Just an empty desk with a leather chair and books on finance. She rolled her eyes, the man wasn't as stupid as it seemed.

She sat herself into the leather chair, the material regretfully sticking to her bare legs. Desk drawers, she noted and tugged at the handle. Locked desk drawers, she corrected herself and lifted two paperclips from the stationary pot, unfolding them and twisting inside the lock. It wasn't the easiest method, but she didn't take long and the draw became free game. She took her way through the top drawer, these were all financial paper and industry reports. Memo's and the like. With her camera residing upstairs, she took a pen and blank piece of paper from the desk and started jotting down relevant notes from the papers. She must have spent at least 15 minutes flipping through the papers, speed reading and taking down important information. A small diary sat at the bottom of the pile and she happily flipped her way through, noting his next few important dates for the month, taking down names and times for Lex. This was a goldmine. Finishing with the top draw, she relocked, and moved to the second. But as she opened this one, she froze. She did not expect it. Her eyes grew wide as she moved the top few pages, confirming her thoughts…

There it was; her name. Her real name…

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Dude... he knows?!<p>

Oh Oliver... things were going so well.  
>How will Chloe deal with this new information?<p>

Find out next Monday ;) Reviewers gets imaginary hugs, black kittens and candy apples :)


	27. Unexpected Guests

Reviews are looking beautiful darlings, you really know what to say to make a girl happy ;) I'm so happy with the feedback I've received. Much love to you all! :D

So, thanks to Naleylover23xo, it was brought to my attention I posted this under my other fiction Bandit Stole My Heart, thank you very much for letting me know. I have taken a lesson from this; and that is NEVER to post a new chapter just before I go to sleep. Many thanks. Sorry folks, my apologies.

**Previously; **Lex was a meanie and took Chloe to the opera, despite knowing how much she hated it and how tired she was. Oliver made goo-goo eyes at her (always nice). A gold-digger, snuggle and drive later and he's ravishing her all over the bed, before finding that pesky conscience of his and deciding they'd be better off just sleeping (party-pooper). Chloe relived her father's death through a dream and stumbled into Oliver's office to find something she didn't expect to see: her name.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Seven; Unexpected Guests<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Past is always influencing the present'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Obscura)

* * *

><p>Oliver had it all planned, he'd wake up, surprise her with that damn coffee he'd driven miles to find with his special raspberry pancakes and he'll tell her three words that would probably give her a heart attack.<p>

And that was the problem with planning, it's all fine, until someone wakes up early, picklocks a desk drawer and messes it all up.

"What the hell is this?!" she snapped, breaking him from his sleep alarmingly, papers thrown at him while he was still trying to figure out reality from dream. "Chloe Manning. Chloe Rachenson. Chloe Warler. Chloe Sullivan. Chloe Brook. Chloe Bench. Chloe Maddersill. Chloe Arma." One by one she read the name and flew the paper at him, each throw a hit. Not once did she miss.

"You were in my office?" His brain wasn't quite focusing on the task at hand. Chloe quickly regained his attention, the rest of the papers in her hand cascading around him as she threw the pile at him. She was dressed out of his shirt, full clothed once more and raging.

"What the fuck Oliver?" His eyes finally met her, she stood ready to kill, her chest rising with short snappy breathes.

"Okay, look. It's not what it looks like, I-"

"Not what it fucking looks like?! How is this '_not what it looks like'_? Because this is a hell of a lot of 'is _exactly_ what it looks like'!"

"No, it's just research."

"Research into me. Into these stupid women lined up as you try and play pin the tail on the donkey?"

"Chl-"

"Yeah, well before you make an ass out of me, let's just get this clear. We're done." She turned to storm off. It was the self defence mechanism she found healthiest, when emotions became too much, she dealt with them alone, in private where no-one else saw tears or fists. Besides, she had most of what Lex would want.

"No. We're not done. And you can start by telling me the truth about you." Oliver found his strength, taking the covers off in one swoop and chasing after her, slamming the door shut and putting himself before it so she couldn't leave.

"The truth?" she echoed. "And what the hell point would that have, you clearly have your own theories about me." She crossed her arms over her chest. It dared him to challenge her, because she knew she would win.

"With good reason. Chloe Maine isn't on Luthor payroll, she isn't a citizen of Metropolis, she doesn't have anything significant of note since she was 13 and then things just start popping back up a few months ago. She passed her driver's test, got a passport and suddenly became a very active citizen all within 4 months."

"So what? I'm some mystery for you to solve?" she hissed.

"All these names." He cast a hand to the floor. "Missing persons with the first name Chloe from across the country. You're one of these."

"Did you ever think why my name has changed?" she snapped at him, stalking forward a step, her hands falling to fists. "Ever think of what I might be protecting myself from?!"

"So what, you're in witness protection? Just tell me the truth!"

She scoffed a laugh, witness protection? Sure, but it was the criminal that had kept her as his pet.

"Why, so you can dig some more?" She put a hand to the door handle. He moved his body between the two. "Don't." she spoke through her teeth, the rims of her eyes already blurring with tears of betrayal. He didn't move. "Let me go Oliver. Now."

"No. We're talking this out."

"Fine." she sighed and with a cobra quick strike she snapped a hand to his, sliding him into a wrist lock and dropping him to the floor. She was pulling the door wide before he hit the ground.

"Damn it! Chloe." Oliver raced to his feet and down the steps. But the elevator doors were closing as he came to her, he glimpsed something in her hand, but didn't know what.

He'd follow her, drive back to see her. Fix this. But as he reached for the keys, he recalled the object of which she'd been holding. The bowl of his car keys.

Fuck!

* * *

><p>Chloe met the desk with a bowl of keys and some others in her hand.<p>

"The car outside, and this needs to be delivered to this address." She instructed the staff, writing down Oliver's apartment. "And no visitors or phone calls." Before the man could confirm her request she left the bowl and headed for her own penthouse. She wasn't stupid enough to run off with his cars…just give him the message she didn't want to be followed. And since words weren't working with him… her actions would have to.

The cold metal of the elevator wasn't the comfort she wanted though. It flooded her with the feelings she'd been holding down. Betrayal. It felt so much like he'd taken all of her hopes and dreams and just squashed them under his boot. And to think she felt something for him. No… not true. She _still_ felt something for him. She wanted to be able to tell him, she wanted to say the truth, but what good would it do? Nothing, it would just be pain for him, for her… for Lois.

So she did what she only could in situations like this. Escape. She couldn't escape the city, but she could escape reality. And that's exactly what she did with her duvet dragged to the sofa, and some good entertainment.

Moulin Rouge was her film of choice. The love story between Satine and Christian was something she adored with her whole heart. The ending had her brought to tears every time, the songs were powerful and the acting was sublime. She loved it. So she sat with her red nail polish, decorating fingers and toes that poked out of the duvet as she watched. But then, as she sat blowing on her fingernails, waiting in anticipation of El Tango de Roxanne- her favourite scene in the entire movie- she started to think things she didn't particularly want. The scene started playing, but the words began to mean other things. The dance was all about hot passion, the tango being the obvious style, and it tells the story of a prostitute who's John fell in love with her. The story tells of desire, changing to passion, suspicion, jealousy, anger and betrayal. But Chloe's mind started to slip the fiction into her own reality. Though she was far from a prostitute, Oliver _was_ the job. He was assigned by Lex, get in, get out. Only she'd fallen. It was only natural their desire had raced into passion, but now she was stuck with these feelings, betrayed by his suspicions of her lies.

The film continued, the words spilling from the scene to narrate for her,

'_When love is for the highest bidder. There can be no trust, without trust, there is no love._'

There was no trust. Oliver couldn't trust her to be honest, she couldn't trust him to stop digging, this argument had no end, it would be forever a niggle. She couldn't trust him to believe her ever again. But…

Oh how she wished there was no love. Maybe it would die slowly, maybe the feeling of being ripped apart and scooped out would fade, but against all sense, she still felt for him. But, there was no future. In what crazy world had she ever dreamed of being with him? She was doing her job. Putting on the dress, donning the make-up and bringing Lex back what he wanted. When he had it, the job was over, done. So she'd mess with Queen another time. But Arrow was the job too. And she should feel no guilt for doing what she had to, nor what she desired from him. Arrow knew how things stood, he knew he was the job. He was in the same predicament. They both knew they couldn't be together in the long term, and that was how it was. No feelings. Just the job.

But first, she had something she wanted to do before she drew the line and sealed the box on Queen. Chloe stopped the movie, staring out into the darkness of the city. She could see the tower from her window, it was the tallest building for miles. But what did Oliver want it for? And why the high security?  
>Chloe packed a few electronic necessities, just in case the work had been done ahead of schedule.<p>

* * *

><p>Chloe arrived around 1am, the elevator requiring nothing but an easy keycode hack. The door opened and closed silently and she walked towards the solid wood doors. But there was a voice on the other side. One she didn't expect.<p>

"Like I said. It needs work." Green Arrow's distorter was familiar to her now, and she could probably pick him out of all distorted voices. She poked her head between the gap in the door. There he was, pacing the top balcony. Who was he talking to? There was no other. Headset probably, she presumed as he turned. "No. More is better. More communication. Vic can control most of it while we're out."

Vic? Victor? The file Lex had on Cyborg had an alias listed as Victor. "Yeah, I know it's far from ideal, but we need the electronic support."

It seemed Arrow had a vacancy in his team. "About 10 minutes." Then she watched Arrow turn to scan the room before his eyes locked on the door. "I found her." he spoke and descended the steps. "Sneaking around again?"

Chloe stepped into the room.

"Old habits…"

"So... I caught the tail end of the argument." he began, though she had no idea why.

"What argument?" She played dumb, though it was the only thing on her brain. She walked further into the room, her eyes soaking up all the details. It was a beautiful space… and that huge glass window, she bet she could see the entire city from that.

"Queen's apartment is on my patrol route." She ignored his words though, her feet moving without her mind towards the stained glass. The colours were magnificent. Oh, to see a sunrise peeking through this window must be simply magical. She smiled, her fingers reaching to the glass. "A bit hypocritical though." This, she turned back to.

"Excuse me?"

"Your entire job with me is to find my identity and you expect me to be fine with it. You're twice the mystery that I am and you don't think your boyfriend should have the right to dig a little?"

"Dig a little?" she repeated. "He's trying to unearth something that _needs_ to stay buried!" she hissed. "Don't you think I'd love to use my real name? Don't you think I'd love to be myself? I might not have a double identity to protect like you, but I have a single identity to save myself from. And him trying to dig through these files is just going to get him killed!"

"Witness protection?" he guessed, repeating Oliver's question, his voice apologetic for the anger he'd brewed in her.

"What are you doing here anyway?" She ignored his questions, and an unknown grace in him let her.

"New summer home." He grinned.

"Well, it certainly has a view." She allowed herself to turn back to the window, she could see her penthouse balcony from here, if she squinted a little.

Wait… This was Oliver's property. "He's your millionaire!" she suddenly exclaimed turning back to Arrow! "He's your bank roll for this entire thing!"

But Arrow smirked.

"You mean him buying this?" Arrow chuckled. "Every man has something he wants, and every man has a price." So, not bankroll?

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"After my little encounter with dearly beloved, we had a little chat. He wanted to _hire_ me. This was my price."

"Hell of a lot of money for a job. What did he want you to do?"

"Lock up the oldest Luthor."

"Lionel?" What motive would Oliver have for getting rid of Lionel? He wasn't a threat to his business, he wasn't a social problem… sure he was immoral, but he hasn't attacked Queen with his plots. Chloe knew for sure, Lionel had made a point of forcing her to play a part in each of his crooked deals, however small it was. That way, if he went down, so did she. "Why?" If Queen was looking to lock up Lionel, she needed to know, to save herself.

"My price includes my silence." he simply spoke.

"Any chance I can buy the answers?"

"Not on your dime darling." His arms came either side of her caging her to the window. She resisted the urge to crush herself to him, steal those lips, wrap her hands around those creamy biceps. And there was the further proof that Oliver wasn't Arrow, not that she needed it now, but Arrow was entirely bruise free across his shoulder, Oliver was purple almost to his elbow.

But, even as she felt towards Oliver, she still wanted Arrow.

"So, this is your new base of operations?" she questioned, her eyes roaming again. As much as he wanted to touch her, he let her free again, to explore as she wanted.

"It will be." His voice was guarded. "And it will have better security measures too. To keep pesky blondes out." She flashed him a smile.

"We'll see."

He allowed her to brush her fingers over the structural detail, allowed her the walk of the place. But he couldn't stay quiet for so long.

"You should patch things up with Oliver."

"Should I now?" she laughed lightly. "Sorry Agony Aunt, but this big girl doesn't need advice."

"You're really going to blame him for trying to figure you out?" She found herself once again at a loss for an argument. "You've done less ethical things in your time, for much worse intentions. Helping Lex steal his business for example."

"He can't find out."

"Don't worry, I haven't said a word about your sordid plans of keeping him busy."

"No… I mean, he can't find out." Her voice was barely above a whisper, an ounce of fear in the tone. "I was serious before. He'll get hurt, or worse, if he keeps looking."

"Why?" Arrow probed, crossing further towards her, driven by curiosity.

"Just trust me, my past is a big pile of darkness. The more he looks, the more he'll start to question. The more he questions, the more likely either he or I will end up a sticky red mess on a rug."

"So this all comes down to the contract with Lionel then."

"So you _do_ know…" she confirmed. "Look. I don't care if Queen offers you a jet ski and a personal helicopter, promise me he will not know."

"Alright, but in exchange, take some advice." She nodded feeling more relaxed.

"Sure leather fetish."

"When he calls, and he will, let him apologise."

"Why would he apologise?" After all, she'd been the one breaking into his office drawers.

"As a man, I can confirm that men tend to act before thinking. It's entirely possible he's seen logic and knows he did wrong."

"It doesn't matter, he's just a job." she spoke, then turned on him again. "Why do you even care? You hated this guy a few days ago."

"He may just be a job, but he makes you happy." True. "And as for me, I like seeing you happy. Besides, what future could _we_ have? You have a chance with him."

"Fairy-godmother, agony aunt and noble gentleman. You certainly are a mix."

"Anytime I can help."

"I suppose this means our deal is off the table then?"

"_You_ labelled me a gentleman remember." he recalled with a chuckle. "I'm just going to say that if you happen to need me, I'll be here. Boyfriend or no."

She smiled, feeling that warmth flood her again. He'd solved all of her problems. He'd given her logic, he'd given her answers where she'd drawn a blank and he was here for her when the world was asleep.

Her phone vibrated against her hip, the pockets of her jeans annoyingly tight.

But it wasn't Queen like she expected, it was a text from Lex.

'_Nexus plans are adapted. We need to talk.'_

"Nexus labs." she spoke suddenly to Arrow. She watched his posture change, the flirt gone; the vigilante taking over. "Plans are changing."

"How?"

"I don't know. I'll find out tonight."

She walked to the doors again, but his voice paused her.

"Be safe. Lex might be onto you."

She laughed, her fingers pulling at the door. Lex wouldn't know until it was too late.

* * *

><p>Chloe drove back to Metropolis as soon as she reached her car. Lex's text was amiss the <em>now<em> it usually had, but she presumed it anyway. It was just Lex. So after a half hour drive she sat outside the Luthor mansion in the car and answered the ringing phone she'd ignored twice due to driving.

"Chloe, thank god." She didn't realise just how much she missed hearing his voice. "Listen, I just… I'm sorry. I was an idiot."

"A little."

"No, I was a huge idiot. I didn't think, I just wanted to answer a few mysteries. It's difficult not knowing everything about you."

"… I don't want you to know everything."

"Nothing you could say would change how I feel." He said that now, but the look of hurt on his face if he even knew half of the stuff.

"Please don't ask, don't look."

"If that's what you want, I promise." He sounded desperate. "Just… we're not over, right?" So vulnerable. If she ever doubted he felt something more than lust for her, that was gone.

"Right." she agreed, happy she'd listened to Arrow instead of blocking his number and avoiding him like she had planned. "I'm… sorry about breaking into your desk…"

He chuckled down the line.

"I really couldn't care about that. I just want you back in my arms."

"I'm back." she confirmed. "We still on for dinner tomorrow?"

"Absolutely. I'll pick you up?"

"Sounds good."

They set the time for 5pm and she slipped from the car towards the Luthor mansion. Lex must have indulged in a new car though. There was this bright red convertible in the driveway. She shrugged it off, the rich had the money to splash on new cars, none of her business. Hell, Lex had bought her several cars as presents. Oh! Maybe this was her reward for finding some stuff on Queen. With a smile, Chloe let herself in, greeting the night guards and walking through the Lex's parlour room, he wasn't there. She took a walk through the office and other rooms he frequented, until she finally gave in and asked a guard for his location.

"Mr Luthor is upstairs in his room, working on some reports."

Chloe thanked him and took the stairs silently. It wasn't odd for Lex to take his laptop to bed with him. Well, it was a little. Usually he preferred to work at a desk… but it wasn't out of the question.

But as she walked up the stairs, she grew a sinking feeling in her gut. One that told her she should turn back, that she wouldn't like what she was about to see.

Or hear…

A moan came to her ears. Male or female she didn't know. Hallucinated or real? She kept walking, her body following curiosity rather than logic.

"Oh, Lex. Yes!" a woman's cry, her moan followed. Chloe slowed slightly. She'd never imaged herself to be Lex's one and only. Never expected him to be faithful or to love her. Never dreamed of being anything in the long run to him. But… she'd never expected to have to come face to face with these expectations either. It could all be her imagination up to this point, but this was reality.

"Oh. Yeah. You feel so damn good. You're beautiful." Lex. That was Lex. Lex had never said that to her. Lex… he rarely said anything more than grunts. Who was she?  
>And why did she feel she had to know? Why did she keep walking?<p>

Her shoes were silent as the grave, not that any sound would be heard by the lovers as they moaned for the faster touch. She knew she should go back, she knew it. But she couldn't get her body to obey.

Lex had been her saviour from Lionel, he'd taught her love in the physical sense. He'd made her feel wanted, instead of used. He was different. Clark- her first love- had wanted someone else. Lana specifically. Her first boyfriend had tried to steal her body warmth and keep himself alive in trade. Not to mention all the other freaks she'd crushed on only to find murderous. But Lex, he… he'd given her no lies. He'd told her from the start it would only ever be sex. It had given her something more than just a body to lie next to or someone to scratch the itch. He'd given her warmth and comfort. A warm drip trickled down her face, alerting her she was crying. Lex had taken the pained gap Clark had left. It wasn't love, but it was a bandaid for the bullet hole. Where Clark hadn't wanted her, Lex did. The Lana blindness Clark had possessed wasn't in Lex. He saw _her_.

But as Chloe pushed open the door, she saw him. And she saw _**her**_.

Two seconds were more than enough to take in the view, the lovers too obsessed in the passion to notice her presence. Her hands wiped furiously at her eyes. It turned out Lex had filled her Clark hole a little too well. To and absolute tee actually. Who did Lex crave? Lana Lang of course.

Who would want poor little broken hearted Chloe when there was Lana Lang in the world?!

But Lex was a business arrangement, she reminded herself. She had no right to be upset that he chose her replacement like Clark had. But business or not, it didn't mean it hurt any less.

Chloe stole back her breath and turned from the room quickly, she didn't close the door, didn't tiptoe. Just took herself downstairs. What had made her believe Lex had ever valued her? She was disposable. Replaceable.

She would go home, she'd go home and pull herself together. Her hand opened the parlour doors on her exit, but the new voice in the room froze her body. It chilled every nerve and sent a shiver up her spine.

"I see you finally met Miss Lang." Lionel. "I can't say you deserved to find out like that. But my son has a flare for the dramatic." There, by the dying fire, witness to her tears was Lionel Luthor. He might not look like much, but the man was her tormentor, her demon, her devil. If hell existed inside a man, it would be him. "Oh, this is the greeting I deserve after all these years?" he questioned.

"Hello Lionel." she spoke, her tears dried, her hand batting away what was left.

"That's better." he praised. "So, how are you?"

"Better than you I imagine." His skin looked yellowish in tint, it was clear he was not well.

"Ah, so you did hear?" He twisted the lid off the bottled water beside him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping by for a little chat with my son."

"Then I'll leave you be." She made to leave.

"Did you not want to speak to him yourself? After all you drove all the way from the Gold Tower to come here tonight." The power play of knowing where she was. Again. Like at any moment he could order her death. "And how's Mr Queen? I hear you two are friendly." He knew what she was doing too.

"I can come back another time." she answered swiftly.

"Chloe?" Lex's voice came from the corridor by the parlour. She hesitated, but would rather deal with the son than the father. Lex parted the doors as she crossed closer to him.

"The plans?" she snapped. The question was on his tongue for all of the time it took him to locate his father, then it faded.

"I'll get them for you." At least he understood that much. "Dad. I don't believe we scheduled anything." he spoke as he crossed the room and unlocked his cabinet safe for the flashdrive of plans.

"Can't I drop by to see my one and only son?" Despite the late hour, neither Luthor questioned the 'social visit'.

"You don't usually." His hand fished inside the safe and he took the drive out, walking the room to where Chloe stood, her eyes flickering nervously between the two of them. She wanted gone. He lowered his voice, quieter to avoid his father's ears as he delivered her the instructions. "Return it by tomorrow. But the lab is active, they should find it within the next few days, or week if they're slow." She nodded. "Chloe." He grabbed her arm. "I didn't know he was coming." She nodded again, short and curt, she believed him. With a sigh, he released her and she scurried away. Her breath returned only once she was back in the safety of her own car.

"Well dad. Did you enjoy torturing my assistant?"

"Remember son, you only have her because I let you."

"Because you're dying. Right?"

"Don't be so cold Lex."

"Don't take so long Dad." Lex echoed.

* * *

><p>Chloe put the gas pedal to the floor as soon as the keys turned the ignition, tearing out of the driveway. There was only one place she wanted to go. One place she didn't expect to be going. Oliver. He was swiftly becoming her anchor in the storm, and she wanted his arms back around her, telling her how he missed her, how he wanted to hold her all night and keep her safe. Fight her battles and all that other romantic crap. But she needed it more than she could describe. Needed his warmth, his protective hold, his kiss that made her forget all the bad. Sure, she didn't deserve him, sure he was trouble for her. But, he was everything she wanted.<p>

Chloe made the half hour trip in under 20 minutes, avoiding all the speeding cameras she knew of and enjoying the empty roads. Around 3am, she was tapping in Queen's keycode to his rackety elevator (she'd memorised it after seeing him input it so many times) and let herself into his apartment. The lights were all off. She flipped the hallway lights on, illuminating her way to the bedroom. But… the bed was empty.

"Oliver?" she called to the darkness. No answer. She silenced, listening for water. There was nothing. She wandered back to the kitchen and his office. Empty. "Oliver?" she called out again. No answer. Where the hell was he? It was 3am!

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>:O Why, oh why, would Oliver be out at 3am?!<p>

More importantly; Why would he be out when Chloe needs him! Curse you Oliver, why can't you just be a normal billionaire?!

Reviewers get imaginary puppies and sticky jam doughnuts this week. Remember, imaginary puppies are for life, not just imaginary playtime :)


	28. The Next Step

Hey, how are you all?

I'm considering killing all my electronics; Just got my Laptop fixed and my iPod dies... makes me wonder what will break when I get my iPod fixed. Makes me bloody grateful for a student loan right now though.

Anyway, Reviews have been AMAZING! I seem to have a few of you hooked to almost addiction, I apologize but here's another hit for you.

**Previously; **Chloe found Oliver's research into her. They fought, she left. After a quick chic flick session, she explores the clocktower and finds Green Arrow hanging around. A little advice later and she's prepared to forgive Oliver, but oh no! Lex sends her a text; he's changing the Nexus plans. Chloe drives to Lex's to find the new plans to give to Arrow, only she finds something else much more disturbing. After catching Lex in bed with Lana, she gets her second dose of Luthor as she finds Lionel in Lex's study. Her emotions send her speeding to Oliver's arms. But... he's not there.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Eight; The Next Step<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>All my life I've had to second guess the intention of others'<em> - Lex Luthor (season Two, Episode Heat)

* * *

><p>"Changing?" Victor asked, eyes bulging from his head. "You've got to be kidding me?!"<p>

"I saw her get the text from Lex. Sorry guys."

"Changing to what?" Dinah spoke up from her seat on her couch. Green Bean had invaded and soon everyone was here in her small apartment.

"She's finding out now."

"And she'll tell you?"

"She will." he confirmed.

Dinah sighed, she couldn't believe all of this shit.

"Not to be the one to say this, but this could be all a very elaborate play." AC spoke up.

"It's not." Arrow disagreed.

"You say that based on what? Her ability to fuck you?" Oliver's gaze cut Dinah's words to silence, driving her tongue back into her mouth.

"Chloe's cool, she knows Lex is not to be trusted. If she's giving Oliver the plans, then they're the plans." Bart's loyalty was strong, to Chloe and the team.

"As the only one here not thinking with their dicks when they see her, can we _really_ trust her?"

"I don't see why not." But this was Victor speaking before Arrow or Impulse could find words. "We'll still be cautious, and a plan is only a plan, we all know things can go wrong and yet we can still roll with it." Eyes tracked him from the window ledge where he'd perched to the group and into their conversation. "The first plan she gave us… we'd have been dead without it. Guaranteed." He hated how vulnerable they were before Lex. "If she brings us a revised plan, then we'll look at it, take on board some advice and prepare for it. Worst case scenario; we have to think on our feet. Nothing we haven't done before. Best case scenario; we find we have a friend on the inside."

Ac shrugged, he could accept this, it was logical, structured and Vic was right, it was only ever an advantage, without it they'd be going in expecting anything anyway.

"I don't like it. I don't like her. I don-"

"We know." Bart groaned, interrupting Dinah, much to her annoyance. Her eyes slitted dangerously to him.

"Fine. It's changed. Is that all?" she hissed, annoyed with the boys yet again. Whenever it came down to Chloe, she could only trust her own judgement.

"We still need to discuss Emil." AC offered. "Are we giving him the watchtower code or not?"

"He's trustworthy. I vote yes." Oliver was first to reply. He'd met the man, he trusted him with his life.

"Yeah, he seems cool."

But Bart's words weren't followed by similar ones from Dinah or Vic.

"What the hell is it with you two trusting every misfit you pick up from the streets?!" she snapped.

"It could tie his hands, implications, aiding abetting ect." Vic thought aloud.

"That's what you're bothered about? Protecting the Doc?! What about us?!" Oliver sighed, letting Dinah have at Victor. He tuned it out, he often did whenever Dinah had a stick up her ass about something.

"So… How's Chlo?" Oliver was surprised to find the small voice from Bart who had zapped to his side.

"She's good." he answered simply.

"Just… ummm, I know you've been looking for her. Her real identity, I mean." Oliver turned to the boy… where was this going? "If you find out… tell me?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Both men turned back to Dinah as she picked the vase from the end table, Victor raising his arms in defence. Bart rolled his eyes, but plucked the vase from the air with superspeed as she launched it across the room. Dinah didn't seem to acknowledge the lack of smash as she continued to yell at Victor and now AC too since he was supporting his friend. Bart set the vase in the kitchen then returned to his spot by the window.

But this time, Oliver crossed the room to Bart.

"Any chance you know her favourite movie?"

"Seriously?" he chuckled for a reason Oliver couldn't fathom. "You're going to regret it."

"That bad huh?"

"Oh, no. Her movie taste is excellent. But… you'll regret choosing a movie."

"She a talker?" He liked his movie in quiet with salted popcorn and a beer, people who talked through films deserved shooting, but… maybe he'd pardon Chloe.

"Nope, she's almost a perfect cinema goer."

"But…"

"But, she wriggles. A lot." he laughed, he never minded. He had the energy to tackle her back down every time she started to move. He'd chase her around the sofa to try and pin her while the movie happened. She just batted her eyelashes and he let her go. She knew she wriggled, but she had a comfort thing.

"That's it?"

"Oh, trust me. You'll be regretting it."

"I think I can deal with a little wriggling." Bart smiled widely. It wasn't just a little wriggling. Maybe all that caffeine made her unable to sit still. "Her favourite movie?" Oliver probed again.

"Oh. Uhhh. Well, it depends on her mood. I know her guilty pleasure is Disney's Hercules."

"A woman indebted to Hades falls for the hero." he summed. "How fitting."

"Yeah." Bart agreed with a laugh. "But, she'll watch anything. Actions are usually preferred though. No soppy endings, no romantic plot lines." Bart explained.

"Got it." Both watched Dinah jab her finger at AC for fighting Vic's battle. She'd calm down in a few minutes. "Favourite food?"

"Nah, sorry. That's a little something me and her have. Can't share that man."

"Dessert?" Oliver tried. Bart laughed again.

"Yeah, it's that… oh, that cold one with the coffee in it." Oliver watched him pull faces, trying to remember the name. "It's got layers of cream and coffee and tastes horrible."

"Tiramasu?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Tastes rank, but she loves the stuff." Bart stuck his tongue out in disgust at the memory. "She usually orders it for her birthday, with coffee liqueur and ice-cream added for that extra 'zing'." As much as Oliver tolerated coffee to stay alive, she was starting to change his tastebuds too, because this was starting to sound fantastic.

"Fine! You know what; I give in, let in the entire Metropolis police department." Dinah huffed. "And if there isn't anything else, you can get the fuck out of my apartment. Unlike the majority of you slobs, I have work tomorrow!" The boys passed a secret smile around, taking their leave.

* * *

><p>Chloe returned back to her apartment feeling empty, she didn't bother calling Oliver's cell, just left him a hand scribbled note saying she'd called. She left out that she'd hung around for almost an hour just to see if he'd come home.<p>

She sat on the bed, another yawn taking her as she copied across the nexus files. Lex had changed a few of the traps around, adding a refined green meteor dust to one, though she didn't know why. After making a copy, she re-wrote the information she'd noted from Queen into legible format with her own notes attached. She dropped the flashdrive and information down to the front desk night staff, asking for a personal delivery to the Luthor mansion tomorrow morning. They promised it would be done by 10am. The perks of posh living; people did everything for you.

But as she came back up to the room and stood before the bed, she wondered if she would be able to sleep at all. Lionel had been in her dreams, and her reality. But, she'd barely managed a few hours over the last two days, and it was really pulling at her. Chloe decided to give sleep a good try and without bothering to get changed into pyjamas, she slipped into the duvet, fully expecting to wake up in a few hours due to a nightmare.

But Chloe's awakening was to sunlight in her window. She'd slept dreamlessly, and she felt truly awake. Lex had sent her a message to confirm he had her delivery and was happy with what information she had delivered.

At least she'd satisfied him; that was a big plus to her day. Without bothering to get changed first, Chloe started her day with the morning paper and coffee, swinging her legs under the bar stool in a content way.

Things were going to work out. She already had a plan for her day. She'd start her laptop on the first archery range's database and she'd visit the second higher class one while it worked its magic. Then, she find a link to Arrow and hand him over to Lex. Lex would be happy and set her free, she'd live happily ever after with Oliver. And thus was that, her entire happiness started with today.

She ignored the black pessimistic cloud that pointed out the flaws in her plan and she dressed in her black skirt and white blouse combination, throwing a jacket on top and fixing the fake press badge to the lapel. Everyone loved good press, people rarely said no to their business being in the paper. Chloe looked down at the badge, reciting her name to the mirror, Angela Claydon. And Miss Claydon was a reporter for the Daily Planet, columnist on current events in the entertainment section of Metropolis. Miss Claydon did actually exist, but she was a brunette and Chloe was convinced she was sleeping with the boss to get the position, consider she'd only been working there a year. But, Miss Claydon got the job done.

Chloe tapped out her commanded into the laptop and left it running as she slipped out of the door, letting her guards drive her to the archery range.

Chloe stood at the reception to the club. It catered for a lot of areas, golf being the biggest, but a considerable archery range was also boasted in the flyer Chloe held in her hand as she waited for the receptionist to finish with briefing the new members.

"How may I help you miss?" she called as Chloe watched the new couple leave. "Ah, I see you're a reporter." The receptionist smiled, Chloe copied, reading off the nametag. Claire.

"Hello Claire, my name is Angela Claydon, I write the current events of the entertainment section for the Daily Planet."

"Oh, well that's lovely, do you have a booking to tour the grounds?"

"Actually, my last piece had to be turned over." Chloe leaned in, spinning the lies. "It turned out the business owner was caught in a little police matter. And well, my boss can't print it, but I need something desperately to write. I've been trying to call here for weeks to get an appointment, but times have always clashed. I was wondering if I could just explore around myself."

"Oh, well, I don't know…"

"I know it's a terrible position to put you in, but I'm lined up for a promotion, and I really need to get this piece done. It'll take less than 15 minutes and it's just a quick peek at the archery, a few photo's here and there of the set-up. Maybe a word with some members to get a quote and I'll be out of here before you know it."

"Alright. That sounds fine."

"Oh, Claire, you're a lifesaver."

"It's, it's okay." She smiled and handed over a visitors badge to Chloe "The archery range is the immediate right as you leave through those double doors. Follow the path and you'll be fine."

"I cannot thank you enough." Chloe returned a smile and took herself through the directions she was given, instantly on the alert for the bodies she passed, she found herself one of the maintenance staff first and cornered him. "Hi, I'm writing for the Daily Planet, I was just wondering if you had a few 5 minutes to answer a few questions." The best source of information was from the staff, they saw things, they knew things. And if they were male and straight, they would look straight into her cleavage and tell her these things.

"Ummm, sure, why not?" The teen scratched the back of his head, trying to lift his eyes to her face and failing.

"Great. Now, how long have you been working here?"

"Ummmm, a few years I suppose."

"So, you know the members well would you say?" Chloe pretended to be writing in her notebook, not that the teen would notice if she wasn't.

"Yeah, the staff are told to be friendly and get to know them."

"Wonderful." she praised. "I wonder…" She tapped the pen against her lip and drawing up his eyes. Chloe sighed internally, she didn't even know why she was playing the act, the teen was clearly under the control of his hormones. He wouldn't remember anything of the encounter but the way her breasts moved when she breathed anyway. She rolled her eyes and tapped the pen again, watching the way his lips parted slightly. "Could you tell who is the best shot out of your members?"

"Oh yeah, that's easy. David." He was pleased at being able to answer her questions, that was clear.

"Is he here today?"

"Here most days. He's the one at the end range."

"Thank you. I'll be sure to find you after I have a chat with David." she lied with a wink.

Had she found her target? His back was to her as she approached. She didn't even realise, but her heart was beating faster with each step. She was almost… giddy. Finally he came into full sight. He was tall, about Arrow height.

Oh god, she couldn't think of anything but Arrow pressing over her, his fingers slipping into her heat as he pinned her against that dirty alley wall.

Yes, David was the right height. She watched him pull back the bow, his fingers light on the metal of the frame. She followed the arm, it was straight, strong… muscled. Things were slotting into place. She watched him draw a side-ways stance, the arrow nock pulling back the string as he drew back the shaft between his fingers. She stood, amazed at the dance of his muscles as the string reached its tension. There he was, the sight lined with the middle of the target, half a football field away. He would hit the middle. She knew it, she could feel it. And then there it was, the release, the arrow cutting the air with a swift slice and slamming into the dead centre of the board. She felt her heart skip as it sliced the air… it did something for her sex drive she couldn't logically explain.

"Nice shot." she complimented. Slowly, he turned to her. As he took her in, a smirk grew on his lips.

"Well hello there." The voice was sultry. Was it because he knew they'd finally met, or was it just flirtation? Chloe took in the features. He had dark eyes, almost black they were so brown, a straight nose, and a strong jaw.

"Hello to you too."

"And what have we here?" His hand reached out to the press badge, lifting it gently from the lapel. "Angela Claydon." he read aloud. "Pleased to meet you Miss Claydon. The name's David Fox, but you can just call me Foxy." With a wink he rested his bow to the ground. "So what brings you here?"

She hadn't made her mind up. The nose matched, but the jaw looked a little less than what she saw in Arrow… But, trick of the light? Maybe he wore some sort of mechanism than elongated his jaw. Okay, now this was turning into sci-fi.

"Writing an article on archery." she simply spoke, stepping closer. "You're a fantastic shot. Did you learn here?"

"My dad mostly." His eyes followed her, his smirk ever-present.

"Ah. Can I ask where you work when you're not here?"

"Of course, ask me anything babe." he purred. "I woke management at Tray's digs. It's a building firm." She'd seen their scaffolding in developing parts of the city. Management would give him flexible hours.

"What do you think of the Green Arrow?"

"Oh, he's a legend." Foxy laughed a hand in his black short hair. "Everyone is dying to know who taught him, we keep guessing, but it keeps coming up wrong."

"Guessing? Based on what?"

"Fletching." he answered, then seeing her lack of understanding he expanded. "Every archer does it different." He lifted an arrow from his own quiver at this feet. "See the fletching, flickers of gold in the feathers. Most archers take the same fletching style as their teacher, as a way to honour them. Long tradition. My dad used the same feathers but with silver. I use Gold. Small twist." He was proud… but Chloe was looking further from the link to GA. Something told her it wasn't Fox. And if her gut told her it wasn't him… it wasn't him.

"Thanks. I have to go… but, your number might come in useful." she spoke, shamelessly flirting, just in case she had any other questions.

"Of course darling." He took the pen and notepad from her, scribbling some numbers. "I look forward to your call, day _or night_."

With a smile, she took her exit swiftly, handed back the badge with no more than a thanks and shuffled into the back seat of her driven car, reeling off the address for the inquisitor before she could buckle up.

If Vordigan really was his tutor, she needed to see his fletching. His arrows had been stolen, but there had been two people who'd captured an eternal image of them. The police, and the sole lucky reporter from the inquisitor. The image would be in archives in the basement. The paper was much easier to access than a police record, so she knew where she had to be.

Chloe stopped outside the coffee cart of the inquisitor, hiding the fake press badge away from eyes. But as she walked into the building, she failed to notice the eyes that tracked her. She bustled herself into the basement without so much as a look her way, she'd lifted a key from a junior member piled high with files and let herself in. The computer quickly gave her the filing code and she started her way through the aisles. Easy peasy. She flicked through the box with ease, finding the photo's she wanted with speed. But… then everything slowed. She'd seen Green Arrow's arrows, she'd been pinned to the wall by them, the fletching wasn't even remotely close. It seemed Arrow had done nothing but steal the smaller arrow idea from him. He probably hadn't even known Vordigan. Vordigan was _not _Arrow's tutor. Chloe sighed, sliding the photo from the box and into her pocket. Evidence.

She made her way through the heavy people traffic easily, but on her way up a women almost collided with her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was looking for a reporter."

"Head for the den." Chloe grinned, pointing the woman to the main hall filled with junior reporters.

"Do you work here?"

"Not really, no."

"Oh, well, do you think they'll take a story about Oliver Queen?" Chloe's lack of interest suddenly U-turned and hugged the woman.

"Queen? I'm not a reporter, but I can get your story out there faster and without spinning lies twisting your words." The womans eyes lit up. "How about coffee?"

"Coffee sounds great."

"What's your name?" Chloe asked, leading the woman with her inbuilt coffee navigation system to the nearest coffee shop.

"Dinah." she spoke with a grin.

* * *

><p>"So, there I am being fired because my sister dropped off a package and skipped security, and he's got the ass to fire me when he's inviting criminals in." Dinah hissed over coffee. Chloe rose an eyebrow.<p>

"You're sure it was Green Arrow?"

"Yeah, standing in his office, chatting with the bastard."

"How do you know?" Chloe had sat down with this woman for a coffee and she'd unknowingly captured her attention on every front. She couldn't believe her luck.

"Like I can't figure out his password to his video files. The man's so self-obsessed he input his own birthday into it." Dinah stated, tearing another chunk from her bagel and popping it into his mouth.

Oliver was working with Arrow. To what degree? Chloe supposed it was just finalising the details of the agreement over Lionels arrest.

"Any idea what they were talking about?" Chloe asked, but surely he luck couldn't stretch this far, right?

"No audio, he likes to keep it that way in case of break-ins." Of course, her luck had limits. Annoying limits. "But it was amicable. No-one yelling or pointing fingers. They clearly knew each other previously. But… I'm the one losing her job for violating security protocol. I'd like to know what would happen if the investors found out he's shaking hands with that criminal." If this went to the press Oliver would be a lot of trouble. Possibly lose his business.

"Does anyone else know?" Chloe suddenly found herself needing to protect him.

"Just you and me at the moment." Chloe was relieved, but Dinah seemed too relaxed about the whole situation… rather than an enraged employee looking for a payday.

"How about we keep it that way until I can get some proof?" Although Chloe spoke the words, she didn't expect Dinah to agree first try, not without bartering, so her next words seemed very strange.

"Probably the logical choice." Chloe pulled out a smile, but inside she was trying to figure out the woman sat across from her. Then again… maybe Chloe had been away from people too long, maybe she wasn't as 'off' as Chloe thought. But the question remained; was she just spinning Chloe a story? If so, why? "Well, you've got my number. Call if you find anything, yeah?" Chloe watched the long legs rise from the seat. "Got to dash, need to interview all over again." And then she was gone.

Chloe leant back in the chair, watching the woman battle the people traffic of midday metropolis. Something was off, but the story made logical sense. Oliver would have to meet Arrow at some point, but why his own office? Surely that was too risky, and how would Arrow even get in un-noticed? Something wasn't adding up.

The Green Arrow mystery was getting more and more complex the further she looked. Just when she thought she had something, it slipped from her fingers just as quickly.

Her mobile vibrated and she paid it attention quickly, welcoming the distraction before she went insane.

'_Hack QI, find out if he's interested.'_

From Lex. Wanting her to finally tap into Queen Industries and look at his records to see if he'd taken interest with the company yet.

She'd do it later, she had a date to plan for.

Chloe smiled, her mind set on a bubble bath and the black lingerie that made her look positively stunning.

* * *

><p>Chloe stepped into the marble hall from the elevator and found herself her man. There he was, white shirt, black leather jacket, old snug jeans. Oh baby. Her grin found his mirroring and she twirled herself from him as she approach.<p>

"You like?" she asked as she closed in, but she didn't give him a chance to answer, just seemed to fall apart in his arms as she got closer. "Oh, god you smell great."

"I had a wrestling accident with a jar of coffee." he admitted with a slight blush. He hadn't expected the Tiramasu to put up quite a fight.

"Oh, it's delicious." she purred against him, kissing at his neck like a cat after catnip.

"Alright kitten, I'll shower."

And she pouted. "Get in the car." he ordered with a laugh.

With a twinkling laugher she grabbed his hand and headed to the car.

"Let me-"

"I'm driving. No argument." he cut her off, knowing her words as her eyes turned on his. "Or, no date." The mock threat was enough. Both knew he wouldn't go through with it, but the idea of it was enough to prevent the argument. Besides, both knew what tonight was; the _third _date.

"Fine, you can drive." she fake grumbled and danced her way to the other side of the car. "Where were you last night?" she immediately asked as she pulled across the seatbelt.

"Sorry. Work called. There was a break-in."

"Oh. Sorry." Chloe wondered half heartedly if it was Lex arranged. But maybe Green Arrow had turned the tables, or Oliver had more people messing with him and his business.

"Sorry I missed you." He turned to her eyes. She looked amazing tonight. Her eyes looked huge, no doubt some talent of make-up because with the exception of bush-babies, no eyes were that big and beautiful. Red lips were already drawing him in, and he was trying so hard to ignore her outfit. He wanted her already. There she sat black heels, long creamy legs, loose black shorts and a white blouse he could see the black bra through. Her beige coat hung open, drifting below her knees and giving the illusion of nakedness from the rear view. How was she even keeping warm? It was freezing outside.

"I was only going to seduce you." she brushed off with a smile. "But, tonight _is_ the third date."

He didn't need her to point that out, it had been in his mind from the second he woke up. And every second after that.

"So it is." he agreed. "You're aware I said _after_ the third date… right?"

"M'hmmm. But, you are aware I have this need to crack you before that. Right?" And those eyes turned on his again, locking with his and starting sparks throughout his body.

"What happened to playing nice?"

"The same thing that happened to the thing we won't talk about that happened the last time I saw you."

"Ah. Right." He nodded to her verbal twist of words and joined the light traffic.

"So, what film did you decide on?"

Truthfully, Oliver had spent a lot of time thinking over that. But, there were too many variables. She was too difficult to predict.

"I figured you could choose one. You know what you like."

"Oh, com'on, I thought we agreed this was _your_ date." she mocked, throwing a light, joking punch to his bicep.

"I'm only human." he laughed.

"Alright. I'll choose, but regardless of if you like it or not, you're watching it with me."

"Deal."

"Good, because you can consider this punishment for failing me." She grinned. "We'll watch Crank."

"Never heard of it."

"Then you _will_ enjoy it." But some part of him felt it would be wise of him to have chosen a film he knew of.

"You have an ulterior motive." he spoke. "I think we should choose another film."

"Well, you had that opportunity all last night but failed. Besides, you just agreed!"

"Fight club." she suggested after a prolonged silence.

"So you can fantasise about Brad Pitt?" he chuckled.

"Ocean's Eleven." she smiled.

"Did you miss my point?"

"I'm just saying, if I wanted some fantasy. Ocean's Eleven has Clooney _and_ Pitt."

"We're not watching that." He was strict to that point.

"Triple X?"

"Vin Diesel?" he guessed and her smile answered for her. "So who stars in this Crank film?"

"Well, it doesn't have Clooney in. Or Brad Pitt, or Mr Diesel." she offered.

"Ryan Gosling?"

"It's an action film." she answered. "I wouldn't be so mean to subject you to a chic flick."

"There's nothing wrong with a good chic flick." he laughed, sending her a smirk.

"I could always insist upon you watching the Notebook." She batted her eyelashes, the devil sneaking up out of those orbs.

"Alright, so who does this Crank have in?"

"Statham."

"No."

"Oh Com'on, why not?"

"Please, I know why women love him."

"Really? And why do we fall head over heels for this bad boy?" She played along, her cheeks warm, filled with the corners of her lips in another wide smile.

"Well, there's point one straight off. The bad boy allure."

"Says the man who picked me up in a leather jacket" she muttered gleefully. He heard, but chose to ignore it.

"And then there's that voice, which women just seem to be captivated by."

"He has a lovely voice." she purred, relaxing dreamingly into his seat again. "But if you want a voice that draws in people. Alan Rickman has magical vocal chords. And then there's Morgan Freeman. That man should read to me every night before bed, that way I _would_ get sweet dreams." She laughed, enjoying his torment.

"And you're adding more and more names to the list of actors you're never watching again."

"I'm guessing you're also thinking of adding that rocking body to the list of reasons women are powerless to Statham," she continued fighting her point. "But… then there's Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Ian Somerhalder, Tom Hardy, Jensen Ackles, Christian Bale, and not to mention every male in any film to take his short off in slow motion."

"Really…" he droned, his jealousy feeding his immediate thought of hunting down every other man she'd set her eyes on and taking them out. The film industry would take a huge hit…

"Or maybe it's his presence, that consuming aura. Statham walks into a room and eyes just turn to him. But then there's men like Leonardo DiCaprio, Alexander Skarsgard, Josh Holloway, Tom Cruise and let's not forget Robert Downey Junior, oh, maybe we should watch IronMan!" she enthused.

Maybe he could just threaten them, to keep them from ever meeting her. "But, despite all of these wonderful men…" Her eyes turned back to him, jealousy obvious. "These wonderful men who would have no problem stripping off my clothing and taking me hard in the backseat of their limos." No, he'd have to kill them! "It's still you who I want." Make sure they can never touch her… wait. Oliver turned sharp to her, had he imaged the words? "Heard that bit did you?" she teased. With a smile she turned to look out of the window. "What can I say? You rub me the right way."

Maybe he'd let this long list of actors live after all. Besides, they didn't have a chance at tying her down, not compared to him anyway. He'd beat them to the punch every time.

"So, what's Crank about?" he finally asked after his ego managed to get over the compliment.

"Hm?" she turned back, her thoughts clearly off track. "Oh, Statham gets injected with a manufactured poison, his heart will slow to death unless he keeps it high with adrenaline. So, think fast cars, lots of gun fights and lots of blood and there's your movie."

"And what aren't you telling me?"

"That would be to spoil it." She grinned. "Besides… if you play your card right, we might not make it to the movie."

"_End_ of the date." he reminded.

"During." she corrected. "I will crack you."

"You'll behave."

"We'll see." She turned back to the window, eyes following the pattern of streets and pedestrians. "So, how was your day?"

"Better now." he answered. "Had some employee trouble I'd rather like to forget."

"Bad?"

He sighed.

"It seems my security needs tightening." Her mind went back to Dinah's story about being fired for violating security protocol, was she telling the truth? "But that's another day. Now, I have you all night."

"So you do." she agreed "And what are you going to do with me _all night_?"

"How was your day?" he asked instead, trying to ignore the blood call she summoned with that tone.

"Good. I explored the city a little. It's been a while since I've been here. Did you know it had two archery ranges?"

"Hunting Green Arrow huh?"

But Chloe felt sceptical about this type of conversation with him, especially considering he was hiring Arrow and possibly chatting away in his office with him. What did they talk about? Her?

"Work is work." she simply answered, closing the conversation.

"You have any leads on him?"

"A few things to look into." she agreed. Was he pressing on to ensure his job gets done before he's unveiled. "Aren't you interesting in who he is?" she asked, turning on him, trying to figure him out. He breathed a short laugh at her question. "What?"

"I just think it would ruin a lot of mystery. I like a good mystery."

"But the best part of a mystery is solving it" she expanded.

"But once you solve it, it's not there to enjoy anymore."

"But then the puzzle is forever left incomplete." she argued, well aware his reason for hunting her identity was to solve the mystery of her. Had his mind changed so quickly?

"Just my opinion." he defended, a hand to her bare knee as he felt her temper rise. The motion seemed to work, dissipating all of her words in the touch. "I don't smell too badly of coffee do I?" The question worked in easing the atmosphere.

"It's wonderful." She laughed and cosied into him, her head slumping to his shoulder. "You smell like those rich foreign coffee shops, a mix of blends." Then she paused and lifted herself from him "Actually, you do smell like a mix. How many jars did you fight with?"

"That would be spoiling the surprise." he mimicked.

"Oh god, you made me coffee flavoured dessert!" she exclaimed, her arms wrapping around him without any warning. "What is it? What is it?!" She was like a kid at Christmas.

"Patience." he chastised. She pulled a face at him, but a smile crept back fast, her mood elated so quickly. The woman had a love for coffee that needed therapeutic intervention. But, until a brave (very very brave) therapist took the challenge, he felt no shame exploiting it. "I should tell you; dessert comes _after_ the movie. At the _end_ of the date." She whipped around, the loose hair left hanging down spun around her.

"Bastard." she hissed, but couldn't help but laugh.

Chloe took his hand as he walked her to the elevator, he felt it squeeze that little bit tighter as the doors closed and it jutted into action. Okay, so maybe he'd look into some maintenance so she felt more comfortable around here… though, he enjoyed how she unconsciously crept closer towards him as it carried them up.

"If I die in this thing tonight… I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your miserable crippled life." she muttered.

"I'd probably die with you." But his words had the opposite effect and did nothing to calm her.

"I knew this elevator was lethal." Okay, so yes, he'd get it looked at. He could hardly have her breaking every bone in his hand every time she came over.

"I'll have it looked at." he spoke, pressing a kiss to their joined hands.

The motion finally stopped and she released a breath of tension. The doors opened and she found herself staring at a vase of red roses in the centre of the room. "For you." he whispered to her ear.

"Didn't you get the hint about the tulips?" she spoke, ignoring the tightening in her chest as she stepped closer.

"I did. But these seemed more appropriate for tonight." He slipped his hold of her hand, pointing her to the package at the base of the vase. "I think you might appreciate these more though." He walked himself into the kitchen as she stared at the box. It was long and thin. Like what you'd get for an expensive watch, except much longer. What the hell was it?

She lifted the undecorated lid and smiled. Green fletching, smooth metal shafts and three part arrowheads lay before her.

"I'd forgotten about these."

"I thought so." he replied back from the kitchen. "They're exactly as they were when they were in there. Touched only with the gloves of a very talented mechanic." Who'd charged him a fortune to fix his damn car. At least Victor had successfully convinced her… otherwise, he'd be seriously pissed about that price tag.

"Thank you." she answered, her voice closer. He looked up to find her wandering into the kitchen, the coat gone from her and laid over the back of the couch.

"I thought they might go down better than the roses." He smirked.

"How's the cooking Chef?" she teased, stepping into the room. The lack of sound told her she was barefoot. Quick to make herself comfortable too, he liked that. He liked that she felt comfy in his apartment. So she should.

"I have this under control. But it's going to need another half hour of careful attention. I give you control of the tv and coffee maker in the meantime."

"I'll accept the coffee, but I'd rather like to watch."

"Watch?"

"It's a chic thing." She shrugged off and passed him to reach the coffee source. "Besides, it smells delicious in here, and it's not just because this was clearly the coffee explosion site." She laughed. His arms came around her from behind, she didn't jump, just let herself relax against him.

"What's the chic thing?"

"Watching a man cook. It's really something… powerful." she whispered already playing with his mood. "And if he happens to cook shirtless… it gets a whole lot stronger." she purred. He tried his best to ignore the intended effect.

"I'm a messy cook." he retorted.

"Hence the coffee attack." She turned in his arms. "Besides, more chance to get that pesky shirt off you."

"That's your goal is it?"

"While it does smell lovely in here, plus it's nice and hot, an improvement on the view would not go unappreciated."

"The view won't change, but you're welcome to take a seat and watch the master." he allowed. "I'll even sort out your coffee."

Chloe smiled. Had she ever been happier? Here he was cooking for her, taking her caffeine buzz in his stride and she felt like he'd walked out of her dreams and into this perfect world.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Yey, next chapter is going to be good. I know what happens, hehehehe ;)<p>

Review if you feel like it or want to take a guesses as to who will cave first. Reviewers get... ummm... let's see... imaginary Banoffee cake and... ummm... an imaginary Pokemon of their choice (I'm having Charmander because he's adorable and he has a little flame on his tail- cute!) :D

* * *

><p>I wanted to rant; here's where it's going to happen.<p>

So, there I was, some casual midnight fanfiction reading before bed and I come across this wonderful fiction which i'm in love with (the writing is fantastic, the plot is twisty and turny, this writer has the characters down to a T) and then I read the Author Note at the top of the next chapter and I instantly hate it.  
>This writer has put something along the lines of <em>'I didn't get enough reviews for the last chapter, so i'm not posting again until i get more'<em> and I'm outraged! How can a writer of fanfiction use something like reviews as blackmail to post chapters?! It's horrific, it soils the art and quite frankly i'm disgusted by it.  
>For me, I write because I want to share my ideas with other people. I write because that one person who sends me a smiley face is enjoying the fiction and wants to read more of it. I don't care if I get 1 review or 100 reviews for a chapter, if there's even one person that wants more of it or reviews, then i'm going to post the next chapter. It shouldn't be reliant on a certain number of reviews!<p>

Urgh! I mean seriously, that really ticked me off.  
>It's just... it's not a competition, you don't need 20+ reviews to justify a new chapter. I looked at this writers reviews and they had tonnes, we're talking like 30 for a chapter and yes heshe was a good writer... but demanding more? No, I'm not down with that. I closed the fiction and refused to read anything else by her/him.

I also hate writers that cannot use speech marks properly. For Gods sake people; if it's a new speaker, it's a new line!  
>The amount of fanfiction I've read where this has been shoddily done is outrageous. Please people, check what you write.<p>

Anything you reviewers want to add to my rant? Agree/disagree?


	29. Cooking up love

Yey! Reviews have been fabulous! And, better yet, it seems a lot of readers agree with my little rant, so that makes me super happy!

Yey! I love reading reviews. You guys are so nice! I just want to hug you all!

You're all pretty close with your thinking, but now it's time to find out for sure. Are you ready to fix this sexual tension that's just been a pain in the ass? Of course you are! I hope I did it justice for you :)

**Previously; **Nexus is changing, Oliver is planning for his date with Chloe. Little miss Chloe went for an adventure to the archery range and met 'David' (who sadly does not have the wonderful jaw of Oliver Queen) and then Dinah.  
>Then, the date comes around, there's tension, there's the smell of coffee but best of all, there's a man cooking. Hold onto your fanclub panties ladies.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Twenty-Nine; Cooking up love.<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Life asks of you, what it thinks you can handle' <em>- Martha Kent (Season Four, Episode Crusade).

* * *

><p>Oliver was right, he <em>was<em> a messy cook. But he was good, quick and efficient. The leather jacket came off within the first minute, the cool white shirt miraculously stayed both white, and on him. She found herself enjoying his company more and more. He made her laugh more than she thought possible. He was nothing like her first impression of him. He was nothing like Lex. He was honest, he was true. He was a gentleman, probably the last one in the world. Which considering his previous media covered escapades, she never expected to label him as, but yet… it fit him. He'd changed.

"Alright." He turned to her, the oven door closed again after his latest check. "We're going to have the ex chat."

"Really? You want to go that far down your memory lane?" she scoffed.

"I know the price, but I'm a jealous man." he admitted, not that she didn't already know. "How many hearts are chasing you?" Chloe laughed.

"I can safely say all of the men whose _hearts_ I ensnared are no longer pining for me."

"I don't believe you." he stated.

"You really want to go into this don't you…" She sighed. "Let's see," She resigned herself to the truth. The Chloe Sullivan truth. "The first man I liked wanted another woman, the second tried to kill me. Fast forward to the first boyfriend and we split due to unforeseeable conclusions, we're friends but nothing more. Then, I starting travelling around countries and nothing lasted longer than a few weeks at most." she summed herself up neatly.

"The second tried to kill you?" he repeated, stuck on those words.

"The meteor infected teens don't like the word no."

"You grew up in Smallville?" Shit. Chloe felt her mistake hit her like a lorry to the spine. She'd fucked up big style. She could recover though… right?

"No, but he had." she lied swiftly, trying to keep the calm cool in her voice. He nodded, and she hoped he'd bought it, if he started looking into Smallville history she could be in a lot of trouble. Lionel had scrubbed her clean from documents, but… people's memories were still there. "What about you?" she asked, not really interested in his conquests but needing to change the conversation.

"There's not much that the papers didn't report on." he admitted, then paused to wash his hands quickly. Chloe had read the press reports, they enjoyed following him around (still do), he always provided a story. "I went to an all-boys school, so it wasn't until after that I first started the whole dating thing." He leant forwards on the island, towel in his hands still.

"Dating is what you're calling that huh?" she teased.

"Okay, so, it wasn't so much dating, as one date and then not calling them back."

"Oh com'on, there's got to be more than that, who popped your cherry?" She smiled at him as she spoke, loving the expression.

He laughed, standing and rounding the island, taking her hand as he walked back to the couch with her in tow. She didn't expect him to answer, but as he pulled her onto the sofa next to him, he did.

"I met her in the school holidays, she was a friend of the family." He eased Chloe against him. "We were friends before, the type of ice-cream and movie friends. She wanted more, I was distracted by… urges, and said yes."

"Are you kidding?" she asked, turning to look at him. "She came onto you?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"You just seem like a guy who likes to be in control all the time." Clearly.

"I am now." he simply answered, brushing the loose tendrils back behind her ear. "What about you? Who stole your virtue?"

Chloe smiled, it wasn't a fond memory, it was awkward and strange. But, when she looked back, she rather liked it.

"I was travelling and in Portugal at the time. He was sweet, he was the son of the man who owned a local bakery. It was very storybook romance, batting eyes and blushing cheeks and the like." she narrated. She had wanted Bart to be her first at the time, she was miserable at being taken away from him. But the kid… she couldn't remember his name for the life of her… he'd insisted upon showing her the city and making her smile. It was a first time for both of them, neither really knew what they were doing. Days after Lionel had decided to kick her to another country without so much as a goodbye. "But we grew apart." she finished her tale for her audience. "Film time?" she asked, needing the topic change.

"Sure." He handed her the tv remote with a smile as she shuffled closer to him and into a comfier position, but as soon as she reached the opening screen for the movies, he had her turn around to him, her eyes big.

She didn't need to say the words, the featured film of the week was The Fast and The Furious, in honour of its sixth film release, clearly it had inspired her. "Go ahead." He grinned and she settled back against him to select the film.

"Are you going to tell me why you wanted to watch Crank now?"

"Hmmm?" she questioned, not paying attention.

"Crank." he prompted, tilting her chin back towards him. "The reason you wanted to watch it…" He saw her smile grow again.

"Oh, Statham fucks her in the middle of Chinatown." she told him, not an ounce of shyness from her. "It's hot." And unapologetically she wriggled back into him, lifting his free arm around her comfortably.

"Remind me to never let you watch films I haven't approved beforehand."

"I trust you approve me watching fast cars then." She grinned.

"Considering your driving…" He didn't finish, just shook his head and smiled at the little blonde angel as she positioned him the way she wanted, pushing a pillow into his lap and laying her head against it.

And she stayed like that all through the first five minutes, and then Oliver started to get an impression of what Bart meant, she rolled over onto her front, crossing her arms over the cushion and laying her head on her arms. Then, another 10 minutes and she was back on her side, and after than, she decided she wanted to sit up. She managed to stay sat still for a good time to be honest, but then she leaned back against the other side of the sofa and propped her legs over Oliver's knee.

All while she changed position, it never bothered her. She was nothing like other people, she didn't grumble about not being comfy, in fact, she seemed comfy in every position, changing more out of habit than need. She didn't even notice at some points, he swore. She would be watching the film, and then she'd blink and wonder how she got to the other end of the sofa. Just as he was thinking she'd finally settled, his oven alarm went off and he never got to find out how long she'd be comfortable like that. With a chuckle, he lifted her legs from him setting himself free into the kitchen.

She was something… something brilliant.

A few minutes after Oliver left her, his next command came.

"Chloe, food. Pause the film." She rolled her eyes, but she was starving and it smelled amazing, so she dashed her way to the kitchen after a quick jab at the remote.

Her first impression was… well… it was more of an urge to melt into a puddle on the floor and live forever in the bliss of the man. He'd lined the island with candles, the soft glow illuminating the kitchen and the man. "What?" he enquired. "Too much."

"No… just… adjusting." she replied honestly.

"Well, if it goes cold while you adjust I won't be held responsible." he joked and took her hand to the bar stool she'd had before where he'd decorated her plate with everything she wanted in life. Men didn't cook for her… men didn't light candles…

So why did Oliver?

Why was he so different from other men?

She supposed it could explain her feelings, he was an elite upon other men… her feelings had to mirror it.

After tonight, would her feelings change? She wondered.

After tonight, would she still feel the same? Less? More? She felt her hands clam up, she was actually nervous. She'd never been nervous about sex before.

What if he didn't want her anymore, what if it was just cheap thrills? And now she was pushing herself into a panic. Calm down, she echoed to herself over and over as she settled and relaxed into the present.

A deep red wine sat to her right, water to her left. The man had eaten at too many restaurants when he knew layout of drinks by heart.

"Adjusted yet?" he teased, taking his own seat, tossing the salt lightly over his veg.

Chloe could deal with this, she wasn't going to wig out… right?

Right. This was unfamiliar territory, her heart was pounding but she would cope with it. She pulled out her smile, turned on the tease and relaxed.

"You do realise you have to top this if you want another date?"

"Ah, the prospect of a fourth date, I _must_ be doing well." He grinned. "But, I have ideas, don't worry."

"Ideas? Wanna run those by me first perhaps?" She cut into the steak, he'd done well, just the pink centre giving hint to its juicy texture.

"Alright. Well, I thought you might like some time away, just you and me. I have a little place in the middle of nowhere, private beach, beautiful waters."

"Hmm." she just agreed, giving nothing away.

"It's near Christmas, so when the ice-rink in Star City comes beneath the clock tower, I'll have to take you there."

"Have to huh?" she questioned, a smile on her lips. Lex didn't make a deal out of Christmas, they didn't do presents, or a tree, or decorating. She missed a home Christmas like she had with her father, where people went all out, a fresh tree, decorating everywhere, mulled wine, eggnog, presents, Christmas songs. It was cheesy and she hated how much she loved it, but she truly believed in Christmas magic. But Christmas was a long way off yet.

"Of course, if you haven't skated beneath Star City's night sky, you haven't truly experienced Christmas. That buzz of mulled wine, the Christmas market next to you with candy canes of every flavour, cotton candy and the smell of spices wrapped around you. Not to mention the old chubby men with fake beards pretending to be Santa skating around you laughing for the children. It's really something."

She could imagine it would be.

"Christmas is a long way off." she noted, sliding the steak into her mouth. It was an explosion of taste, the texture perfect. He smiled, seeing her appreciation of it.

"That it is. But I have plenty more ideas." he began. "I'll take you to Gotham, I know it's not exactly a dream-place, but there's a beautiful little Thai restaurant, which tastes unbelievably good, and I need to share it with someone, and I think it should be you."

Chloe didn't realise quite how much the thought of them sharing something so plain thrilled her. It was something just for her, not a date he'd recycled through the other women he'd had. It was something special.

"We could always keep it simple-" he resumed. "Cute picnic in the park." he suggested with a smile. "I'll fly you to Paris, take you dancing under the Iffel Tower and around the Llueve." He chuckled. "We can cruise across the Atlantic." he suggested. "Anything you want."

"Do you always rely on your multimillions to charm a woman?" she joked. He accepted with a laugh.

"We'll hit the local bar if you want, I'll let you beat me at pool." He smiled. "I'll take you to the zoo and adopt you a lioncub. We'll visit the aquarium and count fish."

"Less cheesy?"

"Wine tasting? Cheese tasting? Carnival?"

"More wild?" He laughed.

"Alright. I don't think you'd turn your nose up to mud running." She didn't turn her nose up, but she raised an eyebrow.

"Are you trying to tell me, the billionaire Oliver Queen, who wears more suits that I have shoes, it willing to run an obstacle course with me through metres deep mud?"

"I don't say no to anything." He grinned.

"Except me on a first date." She couldn't help but chime in.

"Valid point." he accepted. "Skydiving? Monster trucking?" He flew the ideas at her, much to her amusement.

"Something less extreme?"

"Alright, well, on the opposite end of that scale, we could lie under the stars all night, or lie by the fireplace in a little wood cabin."

"Exchange the word 'lie' for something dirtier and I could be down with that."

"If that's what you want." He grinned. "I have some other ideas about that too." But as much as she pried, he kept those under wraps for the entire course of dinner.

* * *

><p>Oliver was a wonderful cook, the kind you could easily get fat with. He was easy conversation too. And, he took her empty plate from her, insisted she return to watch the film while he cleaned up, blatantly refusing her rare good deed of offering assistance.<p>

Still, she wasn't going to fight his answer, she took herself back to the sofa, spreading out across the distance and re-starting from where she left off. She had that happy warm feeling from the food, the glass of wine was probably helping too, her fingers took down the top two buttons of her blouse and she smiled to herself as she let the film take her back to the storyline.

Oliver finished quick, the smell of the candles being snuffed out coming seconds before his arrival. She lifted her legs and he accepted his resumed place underneath them, his large hands on her bare calves. She enjoyed the feel of it.

With one hunger satisfied, another rose. She focussed on the film, or at least tried to as she plotted against him. She took her hand behind her head slyly, pushing up her flat hair for more volume, giving her a more wild look.

30 minutes later, Oliver was feeling hot under the collar. What had made him suggest a film? A film?

Here she was, her latest wriggle putting her as close to him as a lover could get. She was soft, warm and snuggled up under his arm. But, the problem came with the blouse, if he looked her way, his eyes instantly fell to the unbuttoned clothing and beneath it. There, as she breathed, rose the beautiful shapes that hypnotised him. It was agony, to have seen her in the throws of passion, to have felt her inner walls clench around his fingers, but to go back to just holding her warm body pressed against him and pretend like he hadn't had those things was torture. She turned again, just slightly, laying against him more, and that changed his view for the better yet again. His eyeline went straight down her chest and she couldn't see his gaze this way either. She took another heavy breath, resting her hand between her legs, his eyes went to the cleavage again, he was sure that halfcup bra would reveal the darkened skin of her nipple at any point.

Chloe turned to him, hearing a broken sigh depart his lips. He turned alert as he found her eyes again, clearing his throat and nodding back to the film. Chloe met the film once more, a secret smile on her lips.

"Ollie." she whispered, her eyes still on the screen.

"Yeah."

"This date…" she began. "Does it finish when the movie ends?" Her intention clear.

"After dessert."

"And if I'd rather have dessert for breakfast?" she questioned, her fingers slipping to his thigh, drawing a pattern up and down so very softly.

"Then yes."

She nodded, shuffling again to lean further down the sofa, almost laying down against him.

"Ollie." she started again, still keeping her whisper.

"Yeah?" he repeated.

"If I don't want to wait until the movie ends?" she prompted. He cleared this throat.

"Then you'll have to be patient."

"I'm not a patient person…"

"Then that's a problem. For you." he stated.

Chloe grinned. It wouldn't just be a problem for her though.

"Ollie." He was used to the routine now, but played along.

"Yeah Chlo" She liked him calling her Chlo, usually it was a Lois thing, but it suited Ollie too.

"Are you worried?"

This threw him a little.

"Worried about what?"

"Well… maybe the reason you are delaying having sex with me is because you're worried."

"I'm no-"

"If you're a little small, I don't mind." she spoke over the top of his negation. "Or maybe your soldier can't stand up like the others."

"Ch-"

"If you can't last long, I mean it's a common problem for me-" He placed his hand over her mouth.

"Watch the film." He tried not to laugh though.

She managed another 5 minutes, then it began a fourth time.

"Ollie."

"Yes."

"If it was something bad, it would have been in the paper right?" she teased.

"Do you know you can't sit still for more than five minutes?" he questioned back.

"I don't like pins and needles." she explained with a laugh.

"I'm pretty sure you need to be sat still for longer than five minutes to get them."

"I don't think I made myself clear." She laughed. "I _really_ don't like pins and needles." She smiled up at him. "It's like being tickled and stabbed at the same time. It's horrible."

"Ticklish huh?" he questioned, his eyes sparkling with an unspoken dare.

"You'll be stabbed if you do." she warned.

"You'll have to wait for the fourth date if you keep this up." he insisted.

"You wouldn't last that long." she purred, sitting up and facing him.

"Alright, maybe I won't, but you'll be tickled if you keep this up."

"Define 'this'." she challenged.

"The questioning."

"Alright." she agreed, but when he thought she would return to sit, she moved instead to straddle his legs. "I'll stop with the questions."

She took his hands in hers placing them on her hips.

"Chloe, you're not watching the film."

"Neither were you." she answered back. "Unless I suddenly grew a tv screen under my blouse." She lifted the blouse, casting her eyes down it and shook her head as she met his eyes again. "I didn't think so."

She rocked herself gently against him, a soothing rhythm, barely there, her lips to his neck, kissing the pulse point. The coffee explosion must have hit him there as well because her tongue licked her lips to taste the sweetest drug she was living from. She pressed another kiss in the same spot, lashing her tongue against the vein that stood prominent as he tensed. He tasted fantastic. She couldn't help but release a happy moan against his flesh, right next to his ear.

That moan was his undoing.

He tackled her to the couch, his lips on hers, his hand unbuttoning the blouse skilfully. This was sweet victory all over again, only this time there would be no phonecall, no date rule. She'd get her happy ending, and yes, it would be very happy. She could feel herself rising with the prospect of the thrill, she felt like she'd been teased for weeks. Oliver kissed with the same feeling.

He was needy, passionate and loving, all wrapped into the kiss that send a tidal wave of lust through the fog in her brain and straight down to her core. She could feel the wetness grow between her legs. His lips came from hers to kiss down her neck, his hand finally settling on her warm skin and sending a shock of heat to flood her. His fingers were rough, callous and demanding, they pawed at her flesh like she was the very giver of life he needed.

And it was need.

It had been weeks of sexual tension, it had been a whirlpool of lust and the storm was reaching its peak.

It was raw necessity that they had each other at this point.

Oliver groaned, his hands finding her bra an obstacle. He pulled her up sharp with him, one hand wrapped around her to yank off the blouse, the other under it to masterfully unclasp and reveal her sensitive tits.

He was a wild man as he found her bare, taking her back to the couch, a fierce mouth feeding a primal hunger with kisses around her breasts.

Need was in her gasp for air, lingering in the way her body rose from the couch and further into his body, it was the tug at his shirt, the fingers in his short hair.

Need was heavy in the air, the smell of sex already dominant.

Need was in the way he moved against her, pushing a knee between her legs, letting her rock against him, the seam of her shorts giving her little to soothe the ache.

Need had consumed mere want, need had taken want and charged it with something so powerful neither could decline.

Chloe hands tugged the shirt over his head with his help, breaking the contact of his lips, but when it returned he was done teasing, and took the nipple lightly between his teeth, the tip of his tongue flicking against the tight bud. She cried out, consumed by the sharp sensation, the rush of lust hitting her all over again. She rocked her hips against him, feverish with desire. Her hands clawed at his back, she _needed_ more.

"Ollie." she called, her voice gone, replaced by breaths and pants of a desperate woman. "Ollie," she cried again, pleasure ripping through her as he sucked the nipple, his thumb and fingers rolling the other. "More." she pleaded. But he didn't reply, he was taken by the high. "Ollie." Her voice broke her repeat and she felt the familiar tug of an orgasm pull at her, luring her closer and closer to its glory. Her hands fisted on his back, her nails scratching the skin. "Oh God." she panted.

Her leg wrapped around his, her hips pumping up and down. Her head was light, her thoughts were dark. She wanted him and that was final. "Ol-" But her words were failing, his attentions pulling the waves of her pleasure stronger over her. He lifted from her nipple, the cold air whipping over the bud in a way that tingled every cell in her body, then he descended on the other, sharing his time. The free hand, it rolled, smooth and quick down her stomach and to the waist of her shorts. His fingers tugged the tie apart, pulled open the button and flew the zip down, his hand quickly sliding inside, finding the nub of nerves like he'd playing her body a thousand times before.

Oliver loved women, it was no secret. He loved their wit, their temper, their challenge. But he loved seeing them fall apart, broken down to moans and cries of pleasure because of him. Chloe was more than any woman he'd seen before. She was wittier, less controlled over her emotions, and ever more so challenging. It stood to reason that he loved hearing her cries of pleasure so much more than anyone else he'd ever bedded. He loved being the one to make her moan, to make her breath hitch, to make her lose control. He loved circling that sweet spot between her legs, knowing seeing her explode within herself would only make him love her more. She was a fucking goddess and she lay beneath him calling his name like a prayer.

Her toes curled, her legs tensed and she knew what took its grip over her entire body. She cried aloud, her arms locking around him, her nails biting into his shoulders, her legs locking around his like a vice. She heard him coo, urging her on, circling the nub that was buzzing with a thousand nerves all alight and super sensitive. She cried again, locking herself around him, her eyes squeezed shut, her body throwing her apart and snapping back together. She came down gasping for air, her eyes open to the smug grin she'd come to adore. But there was no downtime, he looped his arm under her, lifting her to her feet by the couch. She could barely stand, held against him like a swooning damsel.

He spun her, his chest to her back as she held onto his arm, his lips went to her neck, his hand shoving down the shorts and panties with them. She stood before him naked and not giving a care. Her hands came to return the favour, but he grasped her tight.

"Upstairs." The sound was guttural, lust consumed. "Bed." he followed with, walking with her towards the stairs. She could barely balance. "Now." He playfully bit at her neck and slapped a hand to her naked ass. She grabbed the banister, pulling herself up the first step, only to realise his hand was slipping away from her. "I'm right behind you." he warned darkly. She raced up without him, her feet unsteady, her high trying to persuade her she was as drunk as she felt.

She pushed open the bedroom door to another world. Gone was the blue wonderland she'd been in recently. Instead every free space held a vase of tulips, candy swirled like she adored best. Rose petals lined a path to the bed, candles in tall glass beakers stood high and low, lighting the room with a rosey warm glow, flickering shadows against the walls.

"You like?" His hand came around her quick, caging her back to his chest, his lips on her neck again.

"Mmmm." she vocalised, other words gone. It was… perfect. Mindblowingly romantic and yet, there was no cheesy feeling either. Just… perfection.

"Bed." he urged, stepping with her, the clothes she'd worn previously dropped by the door from his hand.

"Bed." she mimicked with agreement, copying the word from his lips. The tease was gone, the lust sated for the next minute, ready for the need to take over again.

He spun her in his arms, sharp, collecting her with a sudden force. Her eyes met his, they were hungry, they were looking at her like she was the answer to his prayers. Her knees hit the bed and he took her down onto it.

He _needed_ her.

She wanted to give herself to him, she wanted him to feel as she had. His lips came back to hers, probably bruising her with the intensity, but she gave as good as she got. While he was resting on his own hands, she took charge of his pleasure, her fingers on his belt, the zipper, the band of his boxers, pushing all down at once. A proud erection sprang free, pointed directly for her.

But he pulled away from her, his throbbing desire further from where she wanted him. "Ollie." But he smirked, taking a leg in each hand and slowly spreading her. "I nee-" But her command for more was cut short, his hands under her hips and lifting her lower half from the bed. His eyes locked to her as he descended, a kiss to her knee, then an inch closer he kissed again. His eyes came back to her, then another kiss, working down her thigh, each time stirring her lust like he had control of her sex with buttons on a remote, right now, he was turning higher and higher. Then his lips were right by her sex, slowly, languidly, he kissed the apex of her thigh, his fingers running her juices up and down her slit, the small tuft of hair on her pubic bone the only design on her. She felt her heart quicken as he broke from her eyes again, his lips closing in. She felt like she'd crashed when he finally placed the tip of his tongue to her clit, then he was sucking it into his mouth, his fingers sliding to her pool of warmth, slipping a finger into the tight passage and taking a slow glide in and out. Torturous almost. But she had no feeling other than the rush in her head, the bedspread fisted in her tiny hands. His free hand spread under her hips, trying to keep control as her body writhed with the sensations, her back arched from the bed, her head crushed to the duvet, moans slipping from her lips in abandon. His tongue joined his fingers tasting in her very essence and then he moaned, the vibrations batting down his tongue against her opening and pushing her higher.

"Com'on baby." he urged. "You feel me."

She could feel nothing but him. Nothing but the sensation of his fingers and tongue, the thrill of the rush was running over her again. Her body shone with a glimmer of sweat, her knuckles were white over clawed into the duvet, her hair was over her features, just her lips visible, those teeth biting at her bottom lips again, her chin tilted towards to ceiling, the face of pleasure.

She felt his fingers curl, felt the fingers stroke against the sensitive g-spot most men couldn't find and Oliver played it in strong rapid strokes. Her calls were loud, echoed around his room, bathing the walls in the sounds of her pleasure. His lips went back to her clit, flicking it with his tongue, then once again, sucking the nerves. That was it, she was gone again. Her orgasm flew through her with no care for her sanity, it brushed every nerve, locked every muscle, raised every inch of pleasure from every cell, then crashed against them all, slapping her with the waves of aftershakes. Just small twitches as she uncurled her feet, unfisted her fingers and opened her eyes to the second smug smile of the night.

"Fuck me." she begged, her voice so small it was miraculous she made any sound at all.

"In time." he answered, though he felt the demands of his own body pulling at him.

"Now, Ollie. Please." she panted, reaching her hand for him. He clasped hers, pulling her from the bed gently.

"I'm not finished yet." he whispered darkly and turned her in his arms. His hand moved her hair from her neck, the other kept her up on the jelly legs that still quivered in the afterglow. She was beautiful. He pulled her to rest against him, his hands smoothing down the front of her body. "You're beautiful." he told her. "A fucking goddess." The curse from his lips made the words bounce in her head. "You have no idea how much I want you right now." The words were dark, filled with sinful promise. "But I said I'd take things slow, and I will."

"I want fast." she disagreed in short breaths. "I want now." she continued, rolling her head onto his shoulder. "I want you now."

"A little-" His lips pressed to the nape of her neck. "Longer." he urged, setting Chloe on the bed. "What is this?" He smoothed a hand over her left butt cheek with a smirk. "You never told me you had a birthmark." he teased.

"I never told you a lot of things." she agreed. "Like; I'm not a patient person." She reached back and snatched his hand, her left leg kicked out and she brought him down to the bed beside her, onto his back. She straddled him as quick as she could, before he could take back control.

"I'm not fin-" he protested with a laugh, but her grin was warning, her sanity returning from the need. And slowly, Oliver watched her fingers wrap around his erection, sliding up and down at her own pace.

"You were saying."

"You're right." And he collided back with her, resuming top dog as he rolled her onto her back his manhood against her slit. She rolled her hips.

"Now?" she pleaded, the green in her eyes flickering with lust again.

Whatever he saw, he caved, his hand dropping to the jeans, pulling out the condom and tearing the foil with his teeth. Even just that motion got her motor purring his name. Sheathed, he reclaimed his position, she instantly lifted her legs, locking her ankles behind his back and moved again. He wasn't going anywhere but forward. His eyes clouded, consumed like before, like on the sofa, like in the hotel. He was darkness all over again and he pressed his tip to her opening, pushing, pushing himself in.

Finally, Chloe thought, her arms wrapped around him, her lips meeting his with the love their actions lost as he pressed forward, her heat accommodating him like two pieces of the perfect puzzle. She was tight, clasped around him like she'd never been given a good fuck in her life. But she rocked against him like a porn star, she clutched to him like he was disappointing and he lost grip on his romantic ideals. Her moans rewarded his change of pace. He'd buried himself to the hilt, and he'd given in his love notion, pulling out and slamming into her as she craved. Her cries of greed came back. More. Harder. Faster.

He gave, her slick channel letting him slip easily, giving exactly what she wanted. Her hands were at his back again, wanting him closer, wanting him pressed against her. He gave, his lips to her neck, her fingers twisting around the strands of his hair as he thrust harder, faster, giving her the more the craved.

It had been a while for him, sure, but that was no excuse for the build being so strong so soon. The woman made him stumble like a virgin before her. Sports, he thought, slower he advised. But then she'd call his name breathlessly, the sports were gone, the slower was no longer in his control. His hand slipped to her clit, playing the nub as he had earlier and he watched her features chance, the wave consuming her.

"Ollie." she cried, the closer she got. She'd never be able to call his name again without him getting hard, not with that sound so lodged in his brain. Not seeing her like this. "Oh God." And she tumbled into the golden abyss again, her walls clenching around him and milking him for his seed. He came hard. He came in a way that touched every part of his body. A way that shocked him with its intensity. He couldn't let her go. Not after that.

Her legs clamped down, his final thrust finishing him and he crashed down to the bed, his head on her chest, his elbows barely remembering to keep him from crushing her.

The sound of breathing took the room, the smell of sweat and sex dominated even over the candles. Her hands came to him, her fingers stroking the soaked strands, keeping him against her.

"That's it?" she spoke, her voice coming from inside her chest against his ear too, her laughter followed. "That's what I've been begging for." she teased, but held him down as he made to protest. "You'll give me a round two when you can breathe again." she instructed.

He managed a chuckle, letting her play with his hair as they both calmed their racing hearts.

Chloe was entirely knackered after the second time round, he'd had her all over the bedroom, on her back, on her front, against the wall, on the carpet- which was worth it considering the intense orgasms doggy-style gave her would certainly pay off the carpet burns on her knees. She was exhausted, the man certainly knew what he was doing. Though, the blow to his ego certainly ensured the second time around he gave 110%, and boy it was amazing. She'd never come so many times.

"Better?" Oliver asked with a chuckle as she lay across his chest, both panting for breath

"I won't be able to walk again…" she mused between breaths, the tiredness creeping into her voice.

"You'll be fine." he chuckled again.

"Coffee?" she asked, cracking an eye open and pushing herself to catch his gaze. Then she remembered the other coffee delight destined for her tastebuds. "Oh, dessert!" He laughed, running his hand down her back, then back up again.

"Sleep or coffee. Not both." he chastised.

"I suppose coffee will be there tomorrow."

"Water?" he suggested instead and felt her nod against his chest. He rolled her over onto the pillow. Oliver was certainly a pro-naked person. She had the glorious view of his ass as he left the bedroom, and then the magnificent view of his 'front' as he returned, two bottles in hand. He smirked, catching her gaze, no embarrassment, not a care. Not that he should be embarrassed; he certainly was gifted in _all_ areas. He passed her the bottle and crossed the room, blowing out the candles before slipping back into the bed. But his arm reached across to her, pulling her back to his side as she was before.

"Thanks." she spoke, looking to his eyes. "For tonight."

"Anytime you need an itch scratched." he chuckled, taking a sip of the water.

"I meant for the dinner and movie… but that too." He smiled, wrapping her closer to him. "Actually… who won? Did the movie finish before we moved this upstairs?"

"Don't know… suppose it will have to remain a mystery." he replied honestly. He hadn't paid it attention before and it was finished when he turned it off now.

"I think I won." she replied smug in herself. He let her have the victory wordlessly.

But Oliver had a new problem… those three words he wanted to tell her… he hadn't had the chance. Hadn't the thought before. But now, he found himself dying to say them. But… she'd freak. Of course she'd freak out, and he didn't want her bolting from him now. So he remained silent and decided upon calling Tess later. As much as he hated the idea, the woman would be honest, and she was the only female input he could trust (on the basis she had no interest in fucking him).

Chloe placed the bottle on the nightstand and curled into him again, her head on his chest, her finger tracing up and down his abs. He smiled, his own bottle set aside and he wrapped her next to him, shuffling to lay under the duvet with her. His arms held her, big strong arms that promised to keep her safe, to scare away monsters and always protect her.

She considered telling him about the deal. Telling him of the hell she'd signed herself up for. His arms came with a promise to protect that seemed so genuine, so loving. It was impossible to not believe he'd keep her safe.

"What?" he asked softly, his voice lullaby smooth as he looked down at her.

What was she thinking? Lionel would kill him. "What's wrong?" He made to push himself up, prepare for the break in her tearducts. But she gently held him down, lifting her eyes to him.

"Nothing's wrong." He was ready to dive for the truth, but then she spoke again. A truth for her. "I'm just happy." For a long time in forever, she felt no worries, no pain. She was truly happy, satisfied, fulfilled. His lips descended to brush the top of her hair where he could reach.

"I'm happy too."

In her mind, 'I'm happy' translated to three words she would never have dared to speak. She curled into his hold. His arms took all of her pain, all of her hurt, and she closed her eyes feeling weightless.

She loved him.

The second he'd slipped from her, she knew. It wasn't enough to just fuck him, she loved him. But, in his arms, she wasn't scared.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Awwwwww, it's all romance and cuddly teddies and lovely pink heart!<br>Everything's going to work out!

Unless of course... no, no, I say nothing!

American spell check is driving this English writer insane. I apologise if I flip from an American spelling to an English halfway through- it messes with my mind and makes me doubt myself.

Review if you want, don't if you don't. Either way, you can have an imaginary hug and a pumpkin to carve (Since it's near Halloween and i'm feeling generous).


	30. Poker Face

Oh my, oh my. You guys really liked that last chapter huh? But yes... sadly, in the world of fanfiction when things get good, there will be a fall. Actually... isn't that just life? Haha.

Loving the reviews, you guys are awesome!

**Previously; **Ollie cooked for Chloe, hitting the almighty third date with great success ;)

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><p><span>Chapter Thirty; Poker Face<span>

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><p>'<em>I believe we make our own destiny'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Hourglass)

* * *

><p>Chloe wasn't much of a morning person, she was a mid-afternoon person, once coffee had kicked in and she'd eaten something. But Chloe woke much earlier than usual to the smell of coffee invading her senses and the sound of a door opening. She pried open just the one eye to find the source of the sensory invasion.<p>

Oliver.

She hoped he wasn't a morning person.

But she found the smell of coffee increase as he neared and like charming a cobra she sat up from the warm bedding, following her nose.

A coffee mug came to her hands and she was changing her mind about this whole morning person thing. Sure they were annoying, but morning people could bring her coffee without her leaving the bed.

"Hmmm." she breathed, taking the first sip.

"Figured you'd need a fix first thing." he admitted with a smile and climbed back into the bed next to her, the newspaper dumped on his lap… sweatpants covering his nakedness.

"I like the way you think." she purred, accepting the offered place curled into him again. "But, you really don't need to read the newspaper."

"Don't I?" Yet he still opened the paper. The main headline was obsessed with the 'blur' saving someone else again.

"I can summarise if you like." she offered.

"Go ahead." he chuckled turning the pages.

"Someone died, someone lived, someone won something. Stocks went up, others went down. One football team won, another lost. It's going to have a light breeze and a mild shower of rain during the day." she predicted. He laughed.

"Or…" he started, actually reading from the paper as he page skipped through it. "Someone's dog saved a child's life." He read then flipped on. "Someone started a fire at an old couple's house." Chloe read with her own eyes as he kept on. "Horoscopes say I'm going to get lucky again." His grin flashed at her. "And… heavy rain all day tomorrow." he concluded, folding the paper and throwing it from the bed, instead choosing the woman wrapped into his side.

"Horoscope reader huh?" she teased

"Only when they say good things." he chuckled, taking her coffee to the bedside table -although she complained- and tackling her back to the bed, caging her beneath him again.

"And here I thought you'd let me on top this time." she purred to him.

"You'd have to fight for it." he teased, dropping a kiss to her neck again.

"I have a better idea." she announced. "There's a perfectly good shower that's feeling very empty right now, and well… I need a shower."

"You're right, we should christen the bathroom." he laughed, pulling her into his arms, and dancing with her to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>At 1pm, Chloe was sat next to him, legs over his thighs with a bowl of tiramisu in her lap as they watched Crank together. He'd blissfully stayed shirtless, turning the heating up to compensate for the cold weather.<p>

"How the hunt for Arrow going?" he asked as they watched Statham chase down some bad guys, as he usually did.

"Hm, so-so." she answered, the spoon back to her mouth.

"Any suspects?"

"Met a man at the archery range uptown yesterday… He had the talent, but not the looks."

"The looks?" Oliver questioned, playing along with her. "Should I be worried?" she laughed as she realised the situation. The man had a jealousy issue.

"You've met him, judge for yourself." She grinned. Would he admit he was working with Arrow? No, she doubted that. Every man was entitled to his secrets.

"You're right." He grinned. "He _is_ a handsome man, perhaps I should just lock you in my bedroom instead of letting you out into the world again."

"As _amazing_ as that sounds. I have a job to do, and so do you."

"Oh don't worry, keeping you satisfied is a full time job, I know that."

"Except you don't get paid, and some of us –who didn't grow up on a trust fund- need to work to live." He chuckled, stealing the spoon from her and taking her prepared bite.

"So, this guy you met yesterday?" he prompted, curios.

"Amazing, but too little of a jaw." Her eyes went to Oliver's jaw. It was… so similar to Arrow…

"Jaw huh…"

"Hmm." Then she considered something… should she tell him about Dinah approaching her? Surely he should be warned… but, then he'd want to know what she'd said and… Chloe wanted to keep that she knew about him and Arrow until necessary. She turned back to Ollie, reclaiming the spoon.

"A good jaw?" he pressed.

"Why do you care? You don't have any desire to _caress _it do you?" she teased, stroking a finger down his own jaw as she did.

"I'm just thinking about my girl out there chasing some smooth talking, good jawed archer."

"One; your girl? Two; smooth talking? You getting a crush on the Green Arrow?"

"One; yes, deal with it. Two; I'm just guessing." He didn't approach the third, just gave her that smirk she loved.

Chloe laughed.

"Alright, I'll deal with it, if you fetch me a second helping while I freshen up."

Ollie rolled his eyes but complied while she padded barefoot to the bathroom.

Chloe studied her reflection as she washed her hands, she looked as happy as she felt. Lionel would tear her apart if he saw her. She sighed, but her mood wasn't dampened. Lionel was behind her, she had a future lined up now. A good future.

She smiled at her reflection, curling the loose strand of hair around her finger. A few more hours, then she'd have to go back to the apartment.

And she needed to contact Arrow, she had the Nexus plans he needed to see. She pulled out her phone, sending a quick text.

'_Apartment. 8pm. I have the revised plans.'_

Chloe slipped from the bathroom noiselessly, the bowl of tiramisu on the counter in the kitchen. Where was Ollie?  
>Upstairs?<p>

She turned around and spotted the door to his study ajar. Warning bells rang- the last time she went in there she didn't like the outcome. Still, curiosity drove her feet closer and she heard Oliver's voice. He was on the phone to someone.

"Well yeah, _before_ was the plan." he was agreeing with a hint of sarcasm. "Things just got carried away. How am I meant to tell her now Mercy?"

Tess Mercer? What was he talking about with her? And why did she get the feeling the conversation was about her…

There was a natural pause, then his voice again. "Are you kidding? She'd probably slap me and be out of the door before I could say another word."

This was not good. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, I appreciate the advice… but I'll tell her later. Not today."

Chloe felt her smile droop. Her heart had vines creeping around it again, poisoning her good mood. He wanted to tell her something that would make her slap him… her mind instantly had ideas, none good. He was done with her. He was sleeping with Tess. The condom split and now she was carrying his child. He's secretly married. He dosed her with a drug that would kill her in 24 hours.  
>Okay, it was just going to get worse the more she thought.<p>

"Yeah. I'll let you know, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Great, and now she was gossip between them. She padded just as silently back to the living room and lifted her phone, her running excuse already prepared.

"Oliver?" she called, smothering the need to pre-emptively slap him with a smile. A faked smile she'd injected with regret. "Where are you?"

"Hey, here." He stepped from the study, shutting the door behind him. "Business call." he explained with a lie. Again, if she hadn't known it was a lie, she would have believed the ease of how he answered to be truth. His eyes met hers and her mask must have been slipping because he asked, "What's wrong?"

She lifted the coat from the back of the couch where it had been all night.

"Got a text, Lex's had problems with the computer again. Malware and stuff." she lied.

"You have to go now?" He seemed in despair at the idea. What game was he playing?!

"Sorry." she simply answered, sticking to as little words as possible.

"Alright, I'll drive you there."

"He's sending a car to my apartment."

"Then I'll drive you _there_." he corrected, picking up the keys. She just nodded, lifting the phone again, pretending to be involved in a texting conversation, thus… not having to talk to him.

She refused his hand the ride down, she answered dismissingly to his conversation and as she stepped from the car into the apartment he was shoving the Bluetooth in his ear and calling Tess.

"_So soon? She must be special. How's your face?"_ she greeted with a laugh.

"I didn't tell her."

"_And you sound like you want to murder someone because…?" _she questioned.

"She still ran off."

"_Alright, tell me what happened." _He heard the roller wheels of her office chair skate across the wood. She was at home in her office.

"Nothing. She got a text from Lex, he needed her, he got a virus or something and then she bolted." He finished his words with a curse and slam to the wheel. The girl was impossible to figure out.

"_She spent the majority of a day sat at a computer for him installing protecting software and he's got a virus the day after?" _She challenged. _"Either that text wasn't about a virus or you did something." _

"He probably wants her for his next pet project or something." Oliver agreed.

"_In other news, we didn't finish our conversation. When are you going to tell her how you feel?" _Her voice spoke of tease, but he knew she cared, she just didn't know how to express it.

"Soon."

"_Christmas comes 'soon'. Make a plan."_ she instructed.

"Fine. Next time I see her I'll tell her."

"_Take her to Claros, I'll get the back room for you if you give me a date. At least then if she beats the living daylights out of you, no-one will see." _Tess laughed.

"I'll get back to you."

"_Be good."_ she spoke and the line cut dead. Oliver cursed again, why couldn't he figure her out?

* * *

><p>4pm rolled over and Oliver sat in his living room with Victor, beers in hand and sport highlights on the widescreen.<p>

"That still doesn't explain why it smells like perfume on the damn couch. Limits man." Vic chastised.

"You're lucky we managed to get to the bedroom, otherwise you'd have an entire new complaint about that couch." Oliver grinned.

"I remain standing on my view that your entire apartment should be burned considering your past conquests."

"I've been thinking of a new place." Oliver admitted. "Bigger."

"Yeah? Why?"

"Just have." Oliver drank from the bottle, hiding the real reason, Victor saw it anyway.

"Damn, you're serious about this chic." But his words weren't followed with what Oliver expected. "Good for you."

Victor met Oliver's curious gaze. "What? She's damn fine, and there ain't nothing wrong with wanting to be with the right person."

Since his last girlfriend, Victor had been pro-love, but… now he was approving of Chloe? "Yeah, she's over the line, but you'll change that." Oliver grinned at the confidence. "Besides, she aint half bad to look at." And with a laugh the boys turned back to sport.

Relaxed silence passed as the highlights continued, the appropriate cheers and boos occurred and the advert break took the gap.

"Hey Ol." Vic spoke up. "Wanna come scout tonight?"

"Where?"

"Nexus labs. Just a run around, see what it looks like. See what our best cover comes from, if there's any obvious problems." Vic shrugged, it was usual protocol.

"Nah man, I gotta go through the adapted plans… and, you should probably wait until we get them."

"I'll be fine. I'll take D." Dinah hated being called D, so they only used it when she wasn't in ear shot.

"She'll probably be up for it." Oliver confirmed. Dinah usually wanted a run out after any argument. It was her way to burn off stress or latent anger. Plus, it was a chance to note any problems and keep the team safe. Dinah hated that she was forced into a mother hen position, but since none of the other boys were taking care of each other, she had to.

* * *

><p>By 6pm, Oliver had a niggle on his mind. He hadn't set a next date with Chloe. Plus, he would need a cover for taking care of Nexus. If he got injured in any way, she'd be onto his identity faster than he could say 'Arrow'. And the chances of escaping unscathed was low, even a scratch could compromise him. So, he needed Oliver Queen to take a small 'business trip' away from her. A week should suffice.<p>

Vic had agreed they should move on the plans as soon as they got them. The day after they received them. Which meant… he'd need his fourth date with Chloe tomorrow, before he went away on business for a week.

The niggle turned into activity and he dialled Tess's number as he lounged back in the chair. Whatever strings she had, she got him a private room for tomorrow at 8pm within the next 5 minutes, calling him back immediately.

He grinned and hooked up the Bluetooth to his ear as he paced, dialling Chloe.

* * *

><p>Chloe sat up and looked at the phone that vibrated. No, she thought. She'd pretend she was busy. She laid back to the sofa, magazine in hand, but she couldn't read the words until that damn ringtone stopped. Fine, she'd answer it, she agreed.<p>

"Hey." she greeted him, trying to fix her smile for the break-up phone call.

Oliver couldn't pin why she sounded unenthused. Was she still with Lex?

"Let me take you out tomorrow." he started.

"_What?"_

"Let me take you out." he repeated with a smile, pacing the length of the sofa and back again. "Tomorrow. 8pm. Claros."

"_You serious?"_ Why did she sound so surprised?

"I did tell you I wanted a fourth date right?" he joked.

"_Sorry. Yeah. Tomorrow, sure."_

"Good. That's what I like." And now she was back to her usual self. Had she doubted his interest? Was this what this was? Was Tess right… was it his fault? "I'll meet you there?"

"_Sure, sounds good. Fantastic even." _He could almost hear her smile. _"Wait, how did you get a table at Claros so quickly?"_

"It's all about who you know." He smirked and reminded himself to buy Tess something in return. She was always complaining about her back ache, maybe a spa day would thank her properly.

"_Amazing." _she laughed.

"Quite. However, I've got to go to Tokyo for a week the day after tomorrow. Business and such."

"_The day after tomorrow? Do things always move this fast in your job? When did you find out?"_ she fired the questions at him with remarkable speed.

"Only got the word today. Rush packing is not my skill." he lied. "But, I'll have you all day tomorrow, and I'll call you every night I'm away."

"_I think I can survive a week without you." _she teased, her laugh twinkling down the line to follow.

"We'll see."

Chloe leaned back on the sofa, she'd been worried about nothing. He still wanted her, he was still taking her out, still interested in the beautiful dates he'd painted in her head. She smiled.

Now she just needed to figure out Arrow and things would be plain sailing from there on out. With a grin, she flipped the page in the magazine, reading an article on teasing your man. She scoffed, she had that down, but as she flipped she caught the image of a poker table in the bottom corner and wheel started turning. Even before she read the tagline, her mind was turning.

She wouldn't be using this to tease her man though.

No. She'd uncover herself a vigilante with a classic game of strip poker.

It just so happens she was quite skilled at poker. Skilled enough to beat a cocky asshole like Arrow down to his tighty-whiteys. And, as a man of his word, he'd have no choice but to give up the game.

She'd trap him with his own cocky ego.

Her mind went to another cocky ego she wouldn't mind playing a few rounds of strip poker with. Oliver. He was everything she needed and more. He was a shooting star across pitch black. He was calm, happiness and laughter.

No man had held her like he did, no man made her feel like she was precious. Men brought her trouble, sadness and emptiness. Oliver touched her hand and captured her heart.

He made her feel safe for the first time in a very very long time. How had she doubted him? He wouldn't drop her.

But… why was she going to slap him? She thought in the back of her brain, and that thought grew larger and larger. He was going on business… that wouldn't make her slap him. What would make her run? What wasn't he telling her _still_?

* * *

><p>At 8pm, Chloe was sat at the round table in the lounge, her feet up on the wood, laptop across her thighs as she added the finishing touches to her work.<p>

Arrow didn't disappoint.

"You called?" The voice distorter broke the sound of her typing. She smiled brightly.

"And you came." she pointed out. "What a wonderful result." she teased.

"You have the files?"

"I do. And, I even went one better." She rose, lifting the laptop with her as she walked to the pale green sofa. "Take a seat big guy." He walked across, but stood behind her. He missed how she rolled her eyes and re-adjusted so he could see the screen. "Nexus labs blueprint." She waved her hand before the screen then pressed for the document to take the full screen. "The improved version." she added to her narration. "Complete with traps and now refined meteor rocks, for lord know what reason."

"Meteor rocks?" Lex must know Clarks weakness. They were in trouble.

"Shush, let the guide finish." she berated. "Not a lot has changed, so your original plan still stands. However, I'd like to offer an alternative." Oliver rose an eyebrow under the shadow of the shades. "I'm sure I know your team enough by now to plan so listen and look Green Bean." She tapped the left button and a green and purple dotted line came ontop of the blueprint. "Lex has designed specific areas of weakness for each one of you, but he hasn't quite mastered the whole 'separation' thing. He's working on typical approach."

"Typical approach?" What did Lex know of his typical approach?

"Cocky bullheaded leader enters first, argumentative female can't keep attention due to her new violent conversation with whatever member of the week pissed her off." Arrow had to give her that. "You'll send your amphibian with tech man from another entrance and speed demons one and two will provide back up, follow in through a third entrance if there is one, of split with the teams."

Yeah… right so far. Just how much did she know about them? He hadn't even presumed this much… "So, flip it. You; the green, and cyber space; the purple, enter through the back doors. Cyber taking down the electric system before hand and you disabling the backup generated at the back door." Arrow narrowed his eyes to the lines. "You storm the fort, take down the trap intended for your fish man and cyber resists touching the computers at all. And I mean at all." She clicked again and a huge red X came over the block of computers on the blue print. "In the meantime, fishy and birdy take the blur with them through the front doors. Blur stops the bullets meant for you, Birdy shatters the glass and sharkboy douses the electrical circuit with the water. Which, by the by, needs to be done _before_ you and cyborg start toying with your end, otherwise it will just all shut down and they'll be locked out." Arrow noted the new blue and black dotted line as it progressed into the room. "I should have probably laid their design on first." she muttered to herself, then continued. "Okay, so you meet in the middle room and they'll be some kind of trap happening there. Lex's blueprint just has a big skull. I'm presuming noxious gas; there were gas canisters on the shipping log. So take a deep breath before you walk in or press anything." A red line came from a third point and across the top shading of the blueprint. "Speedy comes into play now, which is why he had to remain outside." she began again. "In the case that the blur can't get out of the situation or you can't free yourself. You need the hit the ground. There's a vent above the room, it used to be a medical research lab, so everything is inbuilt and he didn't spent the time to check these. So, you'll just have speedy on the roof, take a deep breath and rip open the vent, turn on the fans and get down before taking a breath. Shouldn't be too hard." she summed.

"Right."

"Just ensure you avoid anything marked with your own colour." she added. "The blur should stay away from the big green crosses. And that's quite a few, so ensure you stick to the plan." Then she turned to him. "That's unless you have a better idea."

Arrow looked down at her half stunned half impressed.

"Why don't you work for me?" he asked, the gruff distorter making the words seem like a threat.

"Oh, I don't think we'd get along at all." she laughed. "I made a copy and everything I got from Lex is on the flashdrive."

"Thanks blondie."

"Well, I'd feel bad if you were killed. But, make sure you kill the camera before you go in the back. Otherwise, they'll be questions."

"Nothing will be pinned back to you. You're safe." And she believed him wholeheartedly.

"Good. Now, another issue to address."

Arrow chuckled, leaning against the table she'd just left. "Who taught you archery?"

"Personal question."

"I met a nice man the other day." she began. "He said that archers usually take the fletching of their trainers… in tribute."

"He's not lying."

"So you didn't train with Vordigan."

"How do you know that name?"

"Oh please, 'the dark archer terrorises metropolis', any good journalist knows that story. But… he wasn't your trainer…"

"He's nothing good to be looking into." he warned. "Even dead."

Chloe narrowed her eyes.

"He wasn't your ally at all… was he?"

"He's dead now." Arrow just spoke.

"So he is."

"What else did this 'nice man' tell you?" he jabbed, moving around the sofa to her.

"His name was David Fox." But the name gave no reaction from him. "Extremely talented archer. Bull's-eye every shot."

"I'll tell you something for free sunshine." His mood lifted in those words. "My name's not David Fox." She grinned at him, sliding off the laptop she'd hit hibernate on and stood to her smaller height before him.

"I'm meant to believe you why?" she countered, barely centimetres from him. If she didn't know better, she'd swear Queen had a brother. Maybe long lost… The jaw was just so… similar.

"I'm not stupid enough to train at a local range to my area of hunting." The way he spoke, the danger in the word hunting he used to describe his vigilante behaviour, it stirred something in her. How could she want him after last night with Oliver? She still felt the dull ache between her legs when she walked for god's sake.

"Still not proof." She couldn't be sure, but she felt like his eyes were right on hers, staring into her soul. The shiver ran her with an ounce of fear.

"What more do you need? It's logic, rather than visiting some upstate country club under the guise of press."

"Stalking me?" But the thought didn't bother her, in fact it was quite the opposite, she felt safer.

"You're fun to watch." He grinned, then stepped back. "It's hilariously cute how easily you switch on the charm and have men on their knees before you."

"Shame it doesn't work on all men."

"Not really." he disagreed, stepped away from her and around to the table again. "You wouldn't want a man who caved to your every wish. You'd get bored too easily." Chloe flashed her gaze to him. True… but how did he read that from her?

"Maybe. But at least they wouldn't be dressed in leather pacing my apartment." she teased. "Seriously, you couldn't have lost the suit for one night?"

"You just want to see me naked." he summed. "Besides, I don't see you stripping off for me either. Why should I?" Chloe grinned wickedly, it was like he was playing straight into her hand. And from the tilt of his head, his gaze was playing straight into her cleavage. Her eyes lifted to him, burning alight with the spirit of her dare.

"Alright Green Bean." She lifted the pack of cards from the side table and walked past him to take a seat. "How'd you fancy your luck at poker?" she announced, sitting. "Strip." Was added a second later, her beautiful smile matching fierce eyes. "Your outfit, my clothes." she continued, her foot kicking out the chair he was closest to. "Unless, you're scared…" And she knew he couldn't refuse now. The male ego, especially one as big as Arrow's, couldn't say no to a challenge to their manliness.

"How many pieces you wearing Blondie?" He took the seat, entirely sold to her offer. She rewarded him with a bright beam, something that held an air of evil to it.

"Less than you, but I figured I'd give you a fighting chance."

"I'll get you naked fair and square. Even it off blondie, then we play."

"Cocky." she complimented. "How many you got on archer?"

Clothes were added and numbers evened. All items were just worth one bet, that was it was more fair. In humour, Chloe had come back out from her clothing scavenge with a pair of dark sunglasses. If he was hiding his eyes, so was she. Sure, she could bluff along with the best of them, but she had clear advantage. He thought her weak and that was how she would win.

"What are we playing?" she asked as she threw him the pack of plain playing cards for his inspection and shuffle. "Blackjack? Five card draw? Seven card stud? Personally I have a preference to Texas hold 'em, but I'll play anything."

"Let's keep it simple goldilocks. Five card draw." Chloe rolled her eyes as he passed the pack back unshuffled. She guessed shuffling with leather all over your fingers wasn't easy.

"Suits me. We can swap dealer once I've shed you of those gloves leather fetish."

"These names are ridiculous…" he chuckled darkly.

"Do you want to give me your real name?" she challenged.

"Do you?"

"Fine. We'll be strangers today. My name will be Candy-"

"Why? Because you'll let me taste you?" he laughed.

"No. Because I may look sweet, but you know I'm not good for you." She smiled sweetly innocent and continued before his next smart comment. "I think I'll call you David today."

"I'm not David. We've covered this point."

"No. I just agreed to drop it for arguments sake, but this isn't cleared up. Besides, you can't prove you aren't."

"Can you prove I am?" he challenged.

"Maybe not. But until then I'll name you David."

"David Fox has a tattoo of a Celtic cross on his left bicep."

"Wow. Maybe you weren't stalking **me** after all." she joked.

"It's called observation, _you_ were tracing your fingers along it the majority of the day. So tell me now, am I David Fox?" He turned to the right, showing her the clean skin of his left bicep. 100% tattoo free. No airbrush effects, no plastic cover. Just real clean skin.

"Alright. So you're not a David. I think I'll call you Billy bob." He leant back in the seat, a smile tugging his lips at her childish behaviour. "This being because no matter how many tomatoes you sell, you'll never accomplish the dream of fucking that sister-cousin you've had your eyes on. She has no interest in you at all." He laughed and tapped the desk.

"Deal Candy. Before someone gets impatient and takes a bite at you." Chloe breathed a laugh under her sigh and added a last minute shuffle before dealing him 5 cards, then her own and stacking the pile in the middle freely. Chloe set her polished nails on the cards, lifting them close to her chest and playfully stealing a glance. A thinking face slapped purposefully all over her features.

"Hmmmm. I see." she announced, stirring another laughter from her melodramatic performance.

"You sure you've played poker before Blondie?"

"Keep laughing Green Bean. Keep laughing while your clothes just flee your body and then we'll see who has the last giggle."

"Alright. I take it I'm going first." Chloe smiled and nodded, letting him discard two and pick up two fresh ones from atop the pile. It would be fast, fun and with her luck at cards it should be the easiest uncovering she'd ever done.

"So dear Billybob darling." she slithered a dance of his made up name across her tongue. "You want to up us from just the one item? Or are you stuck with a lack of faith in your hand."

"Candy sweetie," he purred right back "I've played long enough not to get baited by women playing on my ego." Chloe smiled, and it was real, but her brain was telling her it might not be as easy as she planned. "I'm not raising, and I'm not folding. Take your turn." So he was evaluating her first round it seemed. To get a sense on what style she played with. If she'd blast it all, or play slow and steady. Chloe did it all and more, always keeping them on their toes, chasing their tails.

She struck her thinking pose again, dropping 4 cards and collecting four fresh. It was reckless and risky, but she knew how to play against cocky men. She'd kept her ace, and much to her love she had collected another one and a pair of four's. What luck? Nothing that good had happened before. She muffled a forced sigh and rested her hands on the smooth table, almost missing the feel of felt to accompany the sensation of stealing people's winnings.

"Alrighty Bobby. We'll start things off slow and I'll just raise you up the one item."

"I'll see that bet." He grinned and cards turned over.

She took great joy in his reaction, watching with a smile as he sighed and took off both gloves on his hands. They sat limp and lifeless on one of the spare chairs aside them. No re-dressing, as a rule. Only betting your own clothes and once it's gone. It's gone. Unable to stop herself she lifted one of her winnings and tossed it in her hands before slipping her significantly smaller hand inside. Her own trophy.

"I like it. When you run out of here naked I think I'll keep them. Maybe stuff them and mount them on my wall." she laughed.

* * *

><p>The tables turned back and forward. His boots, arm bands, weapons, belt and socks were sitting aside to join both of her ear-rings, sunglasses, necklace, slippers, sun hat, cardigan and t-shirt. Chloe brushed her hand in her hair again, not bothering to hide the lilac lace of her bra covering her naked chest. Her shorts, matching underwear and chunky bracelet the only things on her person to keep her company and she didn't care. They were both down to four items each. Her opponent had skilfully left sunglasses, voice distorter, hooded top and leather bottoms for last, still keeping his identity 100% covered. He'd discarded clothes with care for his anonymity. She'd lost the top to keep his attention wavering, keeping herself covered and yet also having the bracelet to play with around her wrist. He would try and work out if her fingers toying meant she was bluffing or not, when really it just meant she was playing with her bracelet and driving him insane. Nothing more. He was an odd character though, as soon as he got his cards he'd look and lay them flat on the table, not touching unless to look again.<p>

"Alright my old goat Billybob. Deal me." she instructed, cutting off a yawn.

"In a hurry to get to bed? Am I boring you Candy?"

"You deal like a 99 year old with Alzheimer's." she insulted freely with a grin on her face. "If you at least gave me some eye candy I could overlook that… but your Amish tendencies are just getting annoying."

"How about this next one goes all or nothing then?" he laughed.

"I thought you didn't cave to the pressure of blondes like me playing you ego." Her hand went to the half finished glass of wine by her elbow. He refused anymore after the one glass. Something about past drunken adventures which, despite her many protests and bargains, he would not divulge upon. He had decided to raid Lex's cds player and choose one of the rare albums which showed good taste. It was pitch black outside, but warm and light where she sat cross legged on her chair, bouncing her knees in anticipation of his deal.

"I don't give in to your pressures. But my carriage may turn back to a pumpkin soon. Besides, some of us have to work."

"I hope it's not early or you'll be yelled at by your boss for falling asleep on the job."

"Relax blondie. My boss accepts bribes. I'll buy him a hooker named Candy, or something else sweet and all will be forgiven."

"Your boss is nicer than mine." She laughed. "Alright. All or nothing. Last hand. Loser strips."

"Sure you want this?" he asked. "Don't want you to feel pressured." he joked and was met by her laugh as she waved the cards forward. Before he could deal his own hand he was met by a buzzing against his leg. Damn. His mobile. He slipped the lock free and was met by a text from Bart.

_911 Cyb. Where R U?_

He sighed.

"You don't even have your hand and you're giving in." she tried to lighten his dark mood. "Doesn't look good."

"911. I really have to go." Chloe's heart fluttered. He was leaving? No… Her eyes stared wide as he pulled back on the socks and boots with impressive speed. But what was she meant to say? What could she say? "I'm sorry. We **will** finish this." he swore and she pulled him a half hearted smile. Chloe brushed her hand to her hair again.

"You really have to go?" her voice asked him to stay. Just a few minutes more, and it was that need that had him stopping his speed re-dressing. Bart had the worst timing, but they needed him and he wouldn't leave them. No matter how much he wanted to stay. With the belt hanging unfastened around his waist, the arm bands hanging off his index finger and crossbow on the floor he crossed the small distance to take her to his body, his lips swooping down to hers injecting as much need and regret into her as he had.

"Tomorrow. You'll still be here won't you?" She nodded and rested her head against his chest glumly. "Then I'll be here. Before midnight. Promise" With another quick kiss he forced himself to step back, pick up the bow and he was to the balcony, leaving the same way he came in.

Tomorrow, she repeated to herself, her fingers tracing the tingles across her lips. It was definitely a different kiss to Oliver's… but, she felt the same pull. What was it about those men that sparked every live wire in her and put all others to shame? Maybe it was time for her to start believing in soul mates. But two? No-one was that lucky. Then again, how much soul can you share with a masked man you could never be with. He was the job, her ticket to freedom and apparently, he was making her heart protest against her head for the first time since she stood over her father's grave. Oliver, she repeated to herself. She was better off with Oliver. Slowly she closed the balcony doors, flipping the latch to lock them and stumbling miserably to an empty bed.

She knew the feeling all too well by now. It was the one night stand trashy feel. But somehow she knew her heart wouldn't let her put this man behind her. He'd already obliterated her rule of not seeing the same man twice unless for a relationship. God, her life got so much more complex since she got to Smallville. She sighed and flopped back against the bed, scrambling through the darkness of her closed eyes to find the comfort of the duvet against the cold pounding of her heart.

* * *

><p>"What happened?" he hissed down the phone to Bart.<p>

"He's trapped."

"How the hell?!" Oliver snapped. Victor was scouting the perimeter, how had he got trapped?

"Dinah said there was a crying noise from inside. He rushed in and it sealed him in. Dinah says he told her he'd found a room of computers. But, she hasn't heard anything since."

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>:O<p>

... I'm guessing by now you've all realised just how much I love writing cliffhangers...

Hehehehehe. I just love them!


	31. Beating

Reviews have been fabby, as always. Seriously, you guys deserve a medal for all the wonderful things that you've said.

I see you've all twigged on about Lex seeing Chloe's little mix-up with Arrow (Sorry, no get out of jail pass for Chloe this time - Lex saw the whole thing go down, he's over-ridden the cameras). Get ready for the aftermath.

**Previously; **Chloe and Oliver had the morning after the amazing night, with coffee, coffee flavoured dessert and an action movie. All was well until Chloe overheard Oliver talking with Tess and heard some unsettling things. Her presumption that he was going to break up with her was proved wrong as he asked for a fourth date- yey!  
>Chloe invited Green Arrow to review Nexus plans and have a game of poker while Victor went for a scout around Nexus. Then, just as things were getting good, Arrow received an emergency text; Victor is trapped inside.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-one; Beating<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>I used to dismantle your two dimensional assaults with alarming regularity, remember? Maybe you should teach your friend something a little less complicated. What about a game of hangman? That's always fun'<em> – Lionel Luthor (Season Five, Episode Mercy)

* * *

><p>"So I see you finally found out about Chloe's betrayal." Lionel appeared once more in Lex's office, unannounced and unexpected.<p>

"Dad, I hope this isn't becoming a habit of yours, barging into my office." Lex flashed his eyes up to his father's appearance. Grey suit, to try and hide the yellowing skin. His father had never looked more demonic. Yet even if he sprouted wings and a halo, Lex wouldn't be pleased to see him.

"Would it kill you to be my son for once?"

"You killed that part of me a long time ago, Dad." Lex stood, his expression careless to cover the anger. How did his father know Chloe was working with Arrow? How did he enrage him so much? And why the hell was she doing this?

"I did tell you Lex. She would turn against you one day." Lionel bragged, crossing to lift a bottled water from Lex's cabinet. "She's a wild horse, without a firm hand, she'll fight until she throws you off." Lex didn't meet his father's eyes, just dropped them back to the video feed he watched several times before that night. What was she thinking? How could she do this to him?!

He took her out from his father's cruel hand. He spared her the pain he'd felt as a child. He'd given her something worth living for. He'd only ever been fair and just with her and the deal. Never once exploiting it like his father had. And _this_ was how she re-paid him?! Was this punishment for Lana?

His fists tightened.

His deal with Chloe was fuck buddies at best, she had no right to sell him out to Arrow. "Oh son. You can't even see that she's switched sides. You're probably still trying to reason this out." Lionel voiced with humour. "You're soft on her." he stated. "You always have been. Ever since she ran crying to you because she couldn't take a punishment."

"You beat her dad."

"And you don't." he smugly lifted the water to his lips, no shame. "Notice the difference Lex. She didn't betray me." Lex turned to his father with eyes black as the night that covered the castle. He didn't speak. "Oh stop it." he chastised. "She's not working an angle, she's not helping you. _She's turned_. She's grown past the limitations you set and she'd found someone who wants her free as much as she does."

"Just say what you came to say Dad. Then leave."

"So you can nurse your wounded pride?" Lionel scoffed. "You never could handle your emotions Lex. Just like your mother." Lex felt the rage bubble, his hands clenching to fists. "She's _involved_ with Green Arrow son. You're too blinded by your feeling towards her to see clearly."

"I have no feelings for her." he hissed, violent to the end.

"You never could lie either." Lionel judged him and lifted himself from the chair. "I guess we'll pick this back up tomorrow Son."

"I'll ensure the guards are instructed to not let you pass this time." Lex snarled. Lionel rose an eyebrow, nothing more to show any change of emotion.

"One day. You'll wake up and realise you need me Son. And then it will be too late."

"Forgive me if I shed no tears."

Lionel would have shrugged if he wasn't above it. Instead, he just took his leave as Lex sat back at the computer chair, playing the video camera feed yet again.

* * *

><p>The whole team stood outside as Oliver sped into the area, the bike roaring under the heavy touch of its owner. The sky had darkened, the clouds above as black as the night, filled with rain. It would be a downpour tomorrow, a heavy storm tonight. He stopped by the group waiting for him. Why were they waiting?! Why hadn't Clark rushed in and pulled him out of there?!<p>

"What's the wait?" he demanded, cutting the engine.

"Green K." Dinah voiced.

"I can't reach the doors." Clark responded, looking guilty and panicked. Oliver sighed, regretting the harsh tone instantly.

"Alright." he began. "Can we get the doors open for us?"

"All shut on override, with Vic inside, we can't touch them." Ac offered.

He could call Chloe, he could get her to reset the system and open the doors. He… no… he had to do this alone. There was a reason they wore costumes, a reason they hit the camera's first. Lex had hidden camera's everywhere, if he even got a glimpse of what she was doing, he'd have her killed on the spot.

"Any idea of where he is?"

"Unconscious on the floor, first room to the right. The jack is still in his arm and computer." Clark informed, his x-ray working from the distance.

"Alright. First priority, get Vic. Second, deal with the meteor rocks." Oliver instructed, nods going around. He thought to Chloe's plan, but only one option was coming to mind, one he didn't like. But… there was no other. "We'll go in from the roof, there's a ventilation system Lex hasn't touched." he informed them, all listening carefully. "We don't know what's below, the plans aren't descriptive."

"You got the plans?"

"Yeah." Oliver answered Bart's question. "But, considering the situation, they're only good for the layout of the place and nothing else." No, their approach was gone the second those doors came down. "Canary, Impulse, you come with me from the roof. Aquaman and Boyscout, you stay outside by the doors. As soon as we open them, get Cyborg out." The code names came and they knew it was turning to game time. Oliver pulled from the team, Dinah and Bart hot on his heels, following him to the roof and over the ventilation fans.

It was quiet, silent almost. He turned to the other two before he began.

"There's a chance as soon as we hit the bottom the doors will shut and some type of gas will come in." he informed them. "The plans show the ventilation is kept in place, I can't imagine it's just because Lex has overlooked something."

"So what?" Dinah asked.

"Take a deep breath." Oliver just spoke, getting Bart to turn on the other two fans atop the roof and then breaking the third so they had clear passage.

"We're good." Bart spoke up and Oliver slipped into the ventilation system, punching out the gridding inside the tunnel and dropping from the vents onto the top platform of the room. He slung a rope around the railing and dropped once more to the bottom floor. He touched without a problem, the ground not having any sensors.

"It's clear." he called and Dinah and Bart soon joined him on the floor.

"What is this?" Dinah asked, her voice echoing.

"Kill room?" Bart offered.

"We know nothing more than it has gas canisters by the doors. That's all." Oliver corrected. "Let's find Cyborg. First priority is getting him out."

But as Dinah was the first to cross the threshold of the door, they heard a ticking inside the room. Oliver, who was furthest from the door, ordered their next movement. "Go. Find him!" And tossed the RL-65 he carried to Bart, ordering him out. Bart ran with the drug, pushing Dinah from the doorway as the doors shut quickly and loudly, sealing Oliver inside.

Dinah pounded her fist on the door the next second.

"Arrow!" she called, only just remembering not to call him Oliver instead. "Damn it!"

"I'm fine. Get Cyborg! He'll undo the lock." Oliver called back, but as he spoke he saw the gas canisters release the caps. Colourless, odourless, he had no idea what it was, just that he shouldn't be breathing it. Oliver unzipped the leather, ripping the black shirt underneath and using the cloth to cover his mouth and nose. Vic would come back, he'd unlock the door, everything would work out fine.

Dinah ran alongside Bart, scoping each room as they entered, the green glow of meteor rocks coming from each lighting. Clark would be dead if he ever stepped in here. How did Lex even know about his weakness?

Dinah cursed, running faster to follow the corridor along.

"Down!" She heard suddenly and threw herself on the floor, narrowly being missed by blades that swung across the narrowest point of the corridor across the walls at waist height. If she was stood up, she would have been cut in two. Her eyes went to Bart. He was on the ground as well, looking guilty. "Trip wire." he explained with embarrassment.

"Can run a mile in a second, but you can't watch where you're walking?!" she hissed.

"At least we know what to look out for." Bart spoke, a valid point, but it didn't make her any less pissed that he'd almost killed her.

"Yeah, someone's been watching far too many Indiana Jones movies." she grumbled and pressed on. Their pace slower as they looked for other traps. Finally, they reached the computer room and Dinah's eyes locked on Victor's fallen body.

"He's here-"

But Bart suddenly pulled her back by the arm, tugging her from the doorway. "What the hell?"

"Think. Lex knew he'd go for that room. He knew he'd fall unconscious, and he knew we'd rush in to save him. What would you do?"

"There's a trap." Dinah summed, significantly less pissed with Bart. "Where?"

"There." And Bart pointed to the shiny liquid on the floor none had seen, following it to a metal box with a laser pointed across the door.

"That's flammable." she guessed rightly. The laser would alert the controls and it would drop a flame to the spilt oil/petrol, whatever it was and they'd not only be caged in with an unconscious man, but surrounded by fire. "Nice to see Lex is stepping up." she sarcastically muttered.

"I can speed in and get him out." Bart offered.

"We need access to those computers to lift the door."

"So, what?"

"Reflect the lasers?" she proposed, unsure.

"We don't have a better plan. But neither do we have a mirror."

Dinah sighed and pulled out the knife from her ankle holster. It was shiny enough to reflect.

"You better speed in for Cyborg anyway." she voiced. "Just in case."

"Alright. On three you try to reflect." Dinah knelt by the laser, counting to three and sliding the dagger into the path, but the signal faltered and a flame fell from the box to the oil. Bart pushed himself at full speed, racing to Victor and unhooking him from the computer, before trying to lift him. The flames had taken the door and were building.

"Impulse!" Dinah shouted over the crackling flames. "Faster."

Bart shrugged Victor onto him, struggling with the weight. But, finally, Dinah felt the whoosh of air and the flames parted for a slim second. She turned around and there was Bart, heavily breathing as she lowered Victor to the ground.

"Give him the RL." Dinah insisted. Bart just passed the drug to her, needing to cough out the smoke instead and restore his heart rate.

Dinah accepted without pause, taking Vic's arm and turning for the inner crease of his elbow. She didn't hesitate, she just took a single breath, ignoring the smoke that came with it and pushed the needle into his arm, pushing the plunger on the drug. She didn't know what was wrong, but RL fixed whatever it was, and it fixed it fast, pushing life back into Victor. He sat up, rushing breath back into his lungs, his eyes on the fire that crackled behind them.

"The girl!" he exclaimed.

Dinah looked to Bart.

"There wasn't one." he answered between coughs. "Another trick." he grumbled and crashed back to the floor.

"You need to get the doors open!" Dinah hissed at Victor.

"I can't." he replied. "I can't from the inside."

"You can do it from the outside?" she asked.

"Yeah, the controls are outside."

Dinah shoved her radio into Victor's hand.

"Talk them through it while we move. Arrow's trapped."

Oliver crouched to the floor, the cloth over his mouth, but he could feel a pull of whatever was invading his system. It was making him drowsy, or maybe the poison in it was slowly destroying him from the inside. Either way, he was running out of energy. Keeping low, hoping to avoid as much of the fumes as possible, he scurried to the doors on the left, trying once again at the control panel, hoping to pull the cover from the wall and manually override. But as he approached, he heard a whirring above. A whirring that wasn't the fans. He turned to see a single turret coming from the wall on a pivot. Dear God, Lex wasn't interested in keeping them alive anymore. He wanted them knocked out, and he'd fire bullets into them until they died where they slept. Oliver gave in with his efforts to stay low and avoid the gas, he needed to avoid the bullets, the only safe place was directly below the gun, the banister they had come in from. The rope still remained. Oliver scrambled to the rope, gripping and trying to heave the tired body up.

He barely managed a centimetre before the machine started, throwing bullets out across the entire area.

"What the hell?" Dinah asked, stopping the progress along the corridor, her hand guiding Victor while he was trying to describe different wires to Clark and AC.

"Is that… Gunfire?" Bart questioned. And then he hit super speed, crossing the corridor to meet the solid doors they'd left Arrow on the other side of.

Dinah raced with Victor by her, she found Bart pounding on the door with all his might, calling out for Arrow with no reply, the sounds of gunfire rained in the room behind the doors and everyone thought the same thing. There was no way he was alive if he was still in that room.

"Get the doors open NOW!" she demanded from Victor and he told Ac to cut the red wire. It would raise every alarm there was, but it should stop the power to the building and thus release the doors.

Seconds later the gunfire stopped, replaced by the shrill of alarms. The doors lost their electric lock and Victor dropped the device to pull the doors open. A wave of dread filled them as they felt a rush of air slam into them, bullet casing were scattered across the floor. Dinah's heart was pounding beneath her.

"Arrow!" she shouted, crossing into the room and scanning the corners.

Her heart fell as she saw his green leather. There he was, lying unmoving under the rope he'd slung down earlier. Dinah raced to him, pleaded to a God she'd never before believed in to let him be okay. She knelt, her hands on him, but she lifted them off as quick, warm wetness was under her touch, a crimson tide pooling around him.

Pleadingly, she searched for a pulse. It took her time, time she spent praying, but it was there, slow and feint. "RL now!" she ordered. "Damn it. Now!" she hissed as she heard no footsteps.

"Ac has the other two vials." Victor offered. There was a cut in the air, and Dinah knew Bart was pushing himself for it. Dinah's hands were pushing on Oliver's chest when he returned, desperate to keep his heart beating so the drug could move through his system. Bart passed the drug down to her and she wasted no time stabbing the needle into any part of flesh she could find, she threw the wasted injection aside and resumed her manual compressions of his heart. He'd heal. He would. As long as the drug could reach where it was needed.

Dinah beat his heart for him, her tears sliding down her cheeks unforgivingly, her blurred vision on the gunshot to his chest, the one that was slowing the bleeding. The one that was healing. Her broken laugher came as the relief all needed to hear, but, why wasn't he waking up. RL-65 always woke you up. If you were lying unconscious, one hit and you'd be awake.

Her fingers went back to his pulse. Stronger… but… only slightly.

"It's not working." she panicked, her hands back to his heart. "Why isn't it working?!" she demanded, but no answers came, just the silent prayers from the others guarding her.

The alarms of Nexus labs ran loud and uncomfortable in her ears. A reminder of the ticking clock on Oliver's life, and their need to escape. "Com'on. Com'on Ollie." she pleaded, her tears streaming and dropping to his chest, mixing with the drying blood.

"Why isn't it working?" Bart asked frantically, searching Victor for answers. But Victor was stumbling against a wall, holding his head in his hands. "What's happening?" Bart asked, making his way to him.

"Don't." he warned, as he crumbled to the floor. "He's poisoned my hardware. I can't… I can't see." Victor grabbed his head.

"D, what we gunna do?"

"Give me the other injection." she instructed, taking control. Blood still seeped from his wounds, it still grew the puddle around him, it was still coating her hands. The wound on his thigh not stopping the bleeds.

"But-"

"Just give it to me!" She held out her hand, and the cold plastic came to her palm. She bit the cover off and stabbed it again, this time directly into his heart, her hands sealing the gap as she threw the second empty injection from her. She resumed compressions, and watched as the bleeding stopped.

"Take… the weapons." Victor murmured. Dinah turned to him. "Side effects. Twice as bad now." Victor struggled to speak, his head throbbing uncontrollably.

Dinah's hands had paused, but now she felt a heartbeat, it was coming back with a vengeance.

"Help." she hissed to Bart and the two of them stripped the bow from his back, the daggers from his body and Dinah tied his hands with zipties.

"That's hardly necessary." Bart noted. But Dinah presented logic.

"You really think he's going to let Lex live after this? We don't kill." she reiterated. "You really think he won't fight tooth and nail to get to Lex?" Bart nodded, passing her another ziptie from his pocket.

"Just make sure." And she double tied his wrists as she heard him grunt.

The grunt was possibly life saving for her too. He was alive. Thank God.

But with that life came the price. His feet kicked out and socked Dinah right in her stomach, winding her.

"Bastard." she grumbled as she pulled herself further from him.

"What the hell? We need to move!" Ac's voice came to them. He crossed the room to Oliver, but Dinah warned him off.

"Get Cyborg." she instructed Ac. Bart would be better to walk Oliver, since he could dodge the kicks with his speed. Dinah pulled herself up. "Where's boyscout?" she turned to Ac.

"Outside, he couldn't pass the rocks."

"Alright. Impulse, get Arrow out and pass him to boyscout. I need to you go back to the tower and change that tech lock up into a jail cell for our angry friend." Dinah hugged her side and led the boys out.

Clark was pacing nervously as they reached the exit, his eyes flickering between the exit and the street where Lex's goon were bound to arrive from. He looked drained, he'd clearly been trying to get past the rocks and pushing himself far too far. Clark took Oliver from Bart as he reached him, following Dinah's instructions. The two sped off with Oliver cursing and kicking the entire way. Twice the usual temper of RL-65 was bad… it was a good idea Victor suggested it. She turned back to Victor. Ac was trying to establish what was wrong, checking things for him. So far Cyborg couldn't see, and that was all, but both knew it was going to get worse. "Get him to the tower. Take the car." Dinah instructed, throwing him her keys, she'd parked out of sight. Ac nodded as she took the bike Oliver had left, his keys and bows in her possession along with the discarded needles. No need to leave Lex any DNA to pin them with.

* * *

><p>Bart was sat on the sofa with Ac when Dinah stepped into the new Watchtower. She hadn't been here before, but she'd seen plans. The tech room was locked from the outside, with a small window and originally designed to store important information and computers. But now, it held Oliver.<p>

"Where's Vic and Clark?" she asked as both males looked up to her. She wouldn't lie, she enjoyed having the lead, she liked having things her way without argument. But… she hated the circumstances.

"Vic's with Emil in the back. Clark went with some sirens. Ollie's in… well he's locked down." Dinah nodded to Ac's words. Bart was unusually quiet, sat with his head in his hands.

"He stopped kicking?"

"Doc knocked him out." Ac explained the lack of noise.

"Keep him in there for a few days. And… you best keep Vic in here too."

"D." Ac asked, looking at her, then correcting his mistake. "Dinah." Dinah softened the hard cold hate in her eyes.

"Yeah?" She sat on the arm of the chair.

"What happened in there?" Dinah ran through the story from the start, Bart staying silent as the grave.

* * *

><p>Chloe woke in the middle of the night, hearing thunder crack the sky. She rolled over. Even if Oliver was right and it rained all day, nothing could put a damper on her mood. Tomorrow was going to be amazing. She had a fourth date, a date after sex. Something that had NEVER happened. She smiled sleepily and turned into the warm pillow again.<p>

When Chloe next woke, it was morning. But the rain hadn't relented, it was hammering on the window, the morning sky taken over by the dark clouds above. It looked like midnight, not 9am like the clock confirmed it was. The forecast predicted it to be on and off all day, heavy in the morning and worse at night. Chloe didn't mind, she liked a good rainstorm, it cleared the air.

She'd expected Lex's call to wake her to be honest, the man would no doubt want to confirm Nexus plans, or run something else past her. He always made use for her. Was always there for her.

Chloe remembered the first time Lex had stood up to the mark. She'd upset Lionel. Her part of a plan had gone sour and ruined his play. Nothing that was her fault. But, Lionel didn't see it that way.

"_Excuses excuses, Miss Sullivan." he tutted. "When I give you a job, I expect you to do anything necessary to complete it."_

"_It was hardly my fault."_

"_And your failing is not my fault, yet I am the one to pay the price." he countered. _

"_You're right. I apologise, I made a mistake." She had hoped playing into his hands would save her the punishment, she was wrong._

"_Yes, you did. But you should have avoided the mistake, not apologised for it later. However __**sincere**__ it is." Chloe knew she'd dug herself a larger hole. Not only was he blaming her, but he was punishing her for lying her apology as well. Chloe sat silent, the only thing that would stop her from adding to more of it. "You used to be a bright pupil Miss Sullivan. You passed with nothing less than an A in near everything." Gym had let her down. But if she went back now, after being whipped into shape by Lionel, she'd be running rings around her older self. "And yet the thought of locking a door evades you." he continued, pacing the room. "I don't know what to do with you in all honesty." He stroked his fingers down his beard. But they both knew the conclusion before it happened. He'd put her on the mats opposite him, he'd give her a fencing sword no protective gear. In one way or another, he's beat the lesson into her._

_So that night, as she tried to find a comfortable position to sleep, when she heard someone arguing with Lionel, and sounding like they were winning, she couldn't help but climb from the bed and wander the hall._

"_I've told you before, and I'll tell you again. You really must control your emotions Lex." Lionel spoke. Lex? His son?_

"_And you really must control your temper Dad, it's leading you to drink." Chloe peeked around the door, watching Lionel slam a glass of alcohol to the cabinet again._

"_Damn it Lex, I'm sick of this behaviour."_

"_Yeah, well. What you going to do about it?" Lex mocked and turned to the door, only to find a small face in there… that suddenly retreated. "Terrifying the maids still?"_

"_Chloe." Lionel called and Chloe couldn't avoid him now, she straightened herself out and walked into the room, feeling nervous under Lex's eyes as she crossed the room in her pyjamas. "I thought we had a discussion about eavesdropping." Chloe hung her head, hoping for a verbal rebuttal this time._

"_Oh Jesus Dad, do you really need to terrify her?" Lex spoke instead, taking her battle in his hands and stepping between the two. "You get a new pet to break in, or can you recognise this one as a human?" Lex chuckled. Chloe lifted her head to it, it was a funny sound, one that seemed full of life. Little did she know it would die away year by year._

"_Son, meet my new assistant. The one we were talking about." Lionel spoke, his tone gleeful. _

"_This is your contracted aid?" Lex laughed again, but this time, it was at her. "She's nothing more than a teenager."_

"_She's top of her class. And now she's mine." Lex's eyes turned hot over her._

"_You don't need her Dad. Let her walk."_

"_No. No my son, she stays as long as I do." She could almost feel the evil pour from Lionel's smile. "She's property of Luthorcorp now."_

"_Property of Luthorcorp. Well, as your son and shareholder, she's mine too." Lionel rose an eyebrow to his son. "I'm sure you won't miss her if I borrow her for the night." And Lex took Chloe, his arm around her shoulders and led her back to his room. Lionel chuckled to himself. Lex had taken a shine to his plaything, she'd never leave this mansion._

_Lex's bedroom was on the other side of the great building, far from the dingy accommodation Lionel had given her. The great windows showed the view of the front of the garden. Statues and flowers of all colours smiling up to the windows._

"_Sit down." he simply spoke, motioning to the bed. But then he walked into the bathroom shutting the door and she heard the shower run. Chloe remained seated, her eyes out of the window until he returned, his body shimmering with the water he didn't dry off, low sleeping pants on his hips down to his ankles. He was muscled, she noted. He caught her gaze and smiled before she blushed and turned away. "So what does my father have you for?"_

"_I can't tell anyone." she simply replied. Her stomach was spinning, she knew she had a good chance of becoming his bed-mate for the night, whether she wanted it or not._

"_You see him kill someone?" Lex guessed and she turned to face him. "I know of my father's hobbies Chloe." And with a smirk he turned to her. "You're not a virgin are you?" Chloe flushed bright red, but shook her head. Lex squatted in front of her as she sat on the bed. "Good. So how about I give you better memories of tonight, than you would get if I sent you back down to my father." Chloe felt her stomach swirl. "I believe he still wants to teach you a lesson about listening in to his conversations." Chloe gulped. _

"_Only if you give me something in return." she spoke, managing to find her voice. Lex smirked._

"_I planned to give you something very pleasurable." Chloe sat up straight._

"_I want you to get me out of this deal." Lex didn't turn an emotion on her face. "I promise I won't say a word to anyone about anything. I just want to go home."_

"_I can't do that. It's not because I don't want to." Lex's eyes looked honest._

"_Then another deal." She was quick to speak. "I want you to teach me." To this, his showed his emotions, surprise, mild fascination. What could he teach her? "You can stand up to your father. I want you to teach me how."_

"_And what do I get in exchange?" Lex asked, his voice a purr.  
>"I'll… I'll spend tonight with you." she blushed again.<em>

"_I'll teach you to fight my father, physically and verbally. And you'll come to by bed anytime I ask. And I'll make sure you leave with a smile on your face." His own smile grew as he said this. He watched her bite her lip, then nod. _

Chloe sat at the barstool at the island, coffee in her hand. Lex had come into her life as a solar flare, burning as bright hope. He kept his promise, he taught her, and she always left with a smile. But the thing about Lex was that the solar flare burns itself out. Whatever happened, Lex picked up and left, following some mystical symbols across the world, and she fell back into her black hole. When he finally came back, his light was dim, blinking, burning low. He still cared, but… the care wasn't as freely given as it was before. He'd underhandedly taken her contract from Lionel in a property trade, where he'd hidden her legally. He thought he'd finally beaten his father for good. Until Lionel had walked in, telling him he was dying of liver cancer and Lex realised it was all set up. His father had won, not him. And Chloe. Chloe was the pawn between the two chess masters, she was forgotten about, used and played with as they desired. Lex kept her contract, sent her away, and then called her back when his flame had died.

Chloe stirred from her memory to a knock at the door. Lex? Maybe he wanted a chat in person. But Chloe opened the door to a whole other kind of hell.

"Miss Maine." Lionel Luthor. Chloe stepped back, the door left open. He was alone, no guards. Though they'd probably be around the building somewhere. "It seems we need to talk." And he let himself in.

"I have appointments." she lied. He tutted at her words, knowing the lack of truth and sat himself on the closest barstool.

"Miss Sullivan. Believe it or not, but I'm here to give you some advice."

"I don't want it." she hissed.

"Maybe not, but you'll listen anyway." Chloe remained standing, a far distance from Lionel. "My son, shares a lot of traits with me."

"He _is_ your blood." Whether he liked it or not.

"That being so, there will come a time in the near future when you realise my warnings were right." Which of the many warnings would this be? "My son will inevitably become me." Oh, that one.

"Lex is nothing like you." She knew Lex, she had seen the light in him. It may have died, but nothing was gone forever, he could be redeemed.

"Is that so?" Lionel laughed like he had a secret. "You may think I ruined your life. But Lex will take that to a whole new meaning."

"I think you are confused with someone else. Lex has been nothing but good to me."

"And when he finds out your feelings for your target?" he challenged.

"I don't have feelings for anyone anymore, you freed me of that burden." she snarled bitterly.

"If that is true, you have nothing to worry about. But what happens when you cannot turn over the man you've been chasing." he enquired, standing again. "There was always something in you I couldn't take Chloe. Your morals and ethics." he complimented, or at least she thought he did. "But when you realise Arrow is a personal vendetta of Lex's, and not a threat… which you already have. What are you going to tell your owner when you return empty handed?"

"Leave Lionel." She moved past him to the door, holding it open. He stepped to it, pausing only in the doorway.

"Lex will become me. You'll see." And he walked away, whistling to himself down the corridor. Chloe bolted the door, slid on the chain and cursed herself for not using the peephole. She raced to the coffee, draining the cup and pouring herself another the stop the nervous shaking Lionel always induced in her.

By her third cup, when the rain had taken a temporary stop for the day, she finally managed a breath. Nothing was going to ruin her day. Today was a good day. Lionel was not going to get under her skin, she wouldn't let him. Not today. Today she was in power, she was in control. Today, she had a date with Queen. Today things would change for the better. A new start, a new hope, a new beginning. Time to put the girl who spent her life being used behind her for good. Today, things would change for the better.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

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><p>Reviewers get an imaginary box of tissues... you'll probably be able to guess why you'll need them.<p>

Haha, so yeah... this chapter sets a few things up... ummm, get ready to knock them down next chapter. Prepare yourself however you need.

Many thanks for the support so far, it's been amazing. Honestly amazing!


	32. Broken

Eeeek, Reviews have been super fabby. The Luthors are really stirring up some trouble huh?  
>So, yeah, a few of you know what's to come so... sorry, but the plot bunnies demanded (and they have guns...).<p>

**Previously; **Lionel approached Lex about his progeny's transgressions. Victor was saved, but at the cost of Oliver's life (almost). Our dear hero has been double dosed with RL-65 and is feeling the effect of the rage, so, he's been locked up. In the meantime our darling Chloe is finally putting her hopes on that almighty fourth date with her handsome man.

**Now; ***Slides across box of tissues*

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><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Two; Broken<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>It's not much to look at, is it?'<em>

'_Broken dreams seldom are.'_ - Clark Kent & Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Onyx)

* * *

><p>At 7:50pm, Chloe stood before Claros. This date was something of a legend in the story of Chloe Sullivan. After sex, 'dates' became nothing more than the name of a fruit, 'boyfriend' turned into slang for a man that used her and left without notice. But today, today she had a date with her boyfriend of whom she had already slept with. There was a huge smile on her face. Her lips curved, ignorant of the niggle at the back of her mind asking why she was going to slap Queen. Her mind was on the present, on the colourful reds in the floral display, on the scent of food drifting through the open door. She'd worn killer heels, basic light make-up and a knock-out dress. If Oliver could wait until the end of the date to fuck her again, then it would be a miracle.<p>

He said he'd meet her here, he had a business meeting or something, so she stepped from the taxi confident and full of life. Her name passed to the Maître d' and with a grin, he took her arm in his, leading her with him before she could react to the contact.

Claros was upscale in every sense of the word. Tables had a month waiting list, even for the rich… so yet again, she had no idea how Oliver had a table at this late notice.

"Madame, Mr Queen is not here yet, but has insisted you be given anything you want until he does arrive." he spoke as they glided past seated patrons. Claros was the kind of place where if you crossed the path of a waiter, they would stop and apologise, flamboyantly sweeping an arm to let you pass first. It was the kind of place with rich colour schemes, the kind of place with private rooms. The Maître d' let her towards one of these as she presumed, but then he swept past them with a smile and stopped at smooth red velvet curtains pinned back on either side of another room. He tapped her hand twice and stepped back from her touch, setting her in her own personal space again. His hand motioned forwards as she stood still.

She took a breath and walked forwards again.

The room was like another world, two waiters already standing at attention on either side of the table. Oh god… she hated situations like this, she felt so awkward with the imposed hierarchical system in place.

"Miss Maine." One greeted to her left.

"Miss Maine." Echoed the other to her right, with the same miniature bow. She sighed but took another step into the wonderland.

He'd decorated the area with lilies and tulips in great big vases. It looked like a dream.

"Coffee Madame?" her previous guide offered. She hadn't realised he was still there.

"Oh yes." she agreed swiftly with a smile. At least Oliver had that part of her figured out.

"With pleasure." The man agreed, and snapped his fingers twice. The waiters burst into motion, one drawing back her seat at the lone table, the candle already burning in the centre. The other bowed himself out of the room to fetch the coffee no doubt. "May I have the pleasure of bringing you anything else Madame?"

"…No… thanks." And with a sweep he was gone.

Chloe crossed the area, begrudgingly accepting the aid into her chair, though she was actively against the idea of slavery he was portraying. She turned to him before he was able to speak his next scripted piece.

"Can you perhaps… not do the bowing thing, or whatever you're instructed to do that's meant to make me feel like I own you." The waiter smiled. "And not call me Madame or Miss Maine. Chloe's fine."

"Apologies Miss, but I'm not allowed to call guests by their first names at any time."

"Fantastic." she replied sarcastically rolling her eyes.

"I will do my best to acquiesce to the other request." He smiled.

"Thank you." She grinned with a sigh and relaxed into her chair.

But as each second passed with him stood behind her, the awkward feeling just grew. She wished she'd worn a watch so she could figure out how long she'd been sat there. It felt like hours… though, probably just seconds. "So…" she started. "How's the job? You like it?" she asked, turning back to her waiter. He grinned, flashing a perfect set of white teeth at her.

"Honestly?" he asked, a conspiring wink. He could tell she wouldn't be like the other guests he usually had to serve with their nose up their ass. "It's good pay and that's where my list of positives stops." She laughed.

"I thought as much." she agreed. "Interesting characters though?"

"Oh, you can definitely say that." he chuckled.

"Yeah. Rich people; never a dull moment." She grinned.

"Amen Miss." he concurred, silencing when the other waiter brought in her coffee and bowed himself back out just as swiftly.

"You get paid to stand behind people all night?" she questioned.

"Only if I'm lucky." He grinned again, that flash of a smile. "Usually I'm on the main floor, being pushed around by an old couple who wanted their gravy sieved seven times, not three." He laughed with her. "My apologies Miss, but, why are you so different?" Chloe met the eyes of the young adult, he was barely 25 she bet.

"I've been where you are. Trust me, I know what happens in those kitchens. Being wined and dined by billionaires was not on my list of things to do at all this year."

"You've worked in kitchens?" he questions.

"I've worked my ass off, sweating in a kitchen and putting up with the downward glances of the rich snobs that waltz through my life."

"I'm only doing this to pay for university." he admitted truthfully.

"What are you studying?"

"Not yet." he admitted. "Looking for a course in computer science." She rose an eyebrow, not because of how close to home it hit, but because of the surprise. The guy was good looking, tall, spot-free and nothing like the males she'd spent years with in MIT. "Yeah, I know. I get that look a lot." he grinned. "I like computers."

"Where are you thinking of applying? There are some great courses around, but Star City's campus has Dr Trachenburg, he single handedl-"

"Single handedly created the meta system for multiple invasions of three dimensional networks." he finished with a grin. "You speak computer?"

"I work computer." she corrected. "Personal communications and network manager."

"Wow." he breathed.

Chloe finally lifted the awkward bubble, talking to Joe (her personal waiter) about everything computer (in the realm of legal anyway- though both knew the other dipped into other areas).

"No, most people think I want to apply for a modelling contract." He laughed. "It's a hard world."

Chloe smiled, finally getting the man to sit down opposite her as the time passed and both realised Oliver was running late and no other server would join them until he arrived. They had been deep in the discussion of colleges for a while.

"I can imagine. I've seen the horrible side of computer science courses and it isn't spot free." He chuckled.

"This is ace. I can't believe I lucked out tonight big time." He grinned.

"What time is it?" she asked off-handedly, realising how long they'd been sat there. He rolled up the crisp white sleeve, a shiny silver watch circling his left wrist.

"Just gone half 8."

"Half 8?!" she exclaimed. Where the hell was Oliver?!

"You want me to check with the desk if he called in?" Joe offered.

"Nah, I got this." He stepped back to the other side of the room as she fished out her phone, though she rolled her eyes at him.

'_This person's phone is turned off. Please try again later or leave a message.'_

She rose an eyebrow, checking the phone again. It was his number alright. She flashed her gaze over the phone's time stamp. Joe was right. 8:32pm. Oliver had arranged the date for 7:50… on the dot. He was over half an hour late… and considering the previous overheard conversation it seemed he'd taken the lame way out of dumping her. Her mood turned sour and she hung up, dialling the personal line to the receptionist at his office.

"_Good evening, Mr Queen's office."_ A bright and cheery secretary answered.

"Is _Mr Queen _at the office?"

"_Who is calling?"_ she replied, just as cheery.

"Chloe Maine, he-"

"_Oh, Miss Maine. Mr Queen is away on business until the next week."_

"He hasn't left yet though, is he there?"

"_Mr Queen departed this morning."_

"He left this morning?" she repeated, the blackness oozing into her head, telling her what she didn't want to hear; **he wasn't coming**.

"_Yes Miss."_

"Why was the time changed? He said he wasn't leaving until tomorrow."

"_I'm don't think it was changed, it's penned in his calendar as his flight leaving this morning. I can attempt to call him if you wish."_

"Please do." Chloe spoke between gritted teeth.

"_Of course, one moment."_ And the line went silent for a whole minute as she rapped her fingers against the table. _"Miss Maine?"_

"Yes."

"_My apologies but Mr Queen's phone is turned off. Could I take a message?"_

"No, thank you. I'll leave one myself."

"_Of course. Have a nice night."_ she wished. Chloe jabbed to end the call and instantly redialled her first attempt at a call.

This time she left a message.

"I'm sitting in Claros. Alone. Apparently your flight left this morning… You could have at least manned up enough to do this yourself." And then she was done. She straightened herself out and stood. Joe came across, an apologetic expression. She held up a finger before he could start. "I presume Mr Queen has an open tab for tonight."

"Yes Miss." His lips growing to a smile as he figured out her reasoning. "We have his card on record, it all comes straight from his account."

"Good. Mr Queen would like to buy each table a bottle of whatever your most expensive wine is, to celebrate ending his relationship with me. Can you make him a happy man?"

"Of course Miss, your request will have to be heard by the Maître D' though."

"Bring him in." And Chloe brushed herself down.

Within minutes she was speaking to the man of power and he was confirming her position as Oliver's date and then her request to charge his card with a hell of a bill. She walked through the tables with her head held high and a taxi awaiting to take her home.

But the second she closed the apartment door, she felt empty, hollow and upset. It had happened again. She couldn't keep a man. She thought he was different, she thought he was special.

He was just the same asshole as all the other men.

Why couldn't he just call her? Why couldn't he be a man for god's sake?! Chloe had had her heart crushed by men before, but this man, this man had smashed her heart, shredded the pieces and burnt the remains. It hurt worse that she'd ever felt before.

Chloe heard herself cry before she felt the tears, she heard the sobs. She fell apart against the door, crumbling to the carpet where she lost control.

He should have just killed her, it would be more merciful. Tears streamed, everything cracked inside her. The last piece of hope hung onto a fragile wire.

Something could have happened to him. But Chloe cut the cord herself, she wanted no hope when it came to this man. She'd hoped and she'd dreamed. He'd found a way to stop the bleeding ache of all the men past only to pierce her healed heart himself. Why have hope for a man that tore her apart?! She wished she had slapped him, wish she had walked out on him, wished deep down that there would be some way to make him feel the pain she did. But, there was nothing she could do in under 20 years that would even come close to comparing.

Other men didn't get tears when they left, they got curses and anger. But Oliver… she couldn't even summon anger against him. Just herself, for buying into his bullshit! For thinking she ever had a chance at a happily-ever-after.

Chloe crumpled to the floor entirely, her sobs raking through her dry throat, her dress spilling around her, another reminder of a bad night.

* * *

><p>Chloe leaned back in the bathtub hours later, turning the taps with her toes, her mind on everything that wasn't Oliver. She was doing quite well. She thought about Arrow, he was enough of a mystery to keep her thinking. But… Arrow offered her a solution.<p>

He'd be there before midnight, they'd finish the game. Maybe she'd throw the hand, take him for a good fuck to push Oliver from her mind. Meaningless sex. She had no hopes from Arrow, no dreams. They both knew who the other was, even without names. They knew the situations. So, yes, she would get over Oliver by getting onto Arrow. He'd be her new light. He'd push away the darkness Oliver's rejection had filled her with. Even if just one night at a time.

Chloe sunk into the bubbles, trying to wash away the dark cloud that followed her. Much like the weather had decided to follow her moods too. It had managed to stay clear while she was in the restaurant, but the second she stepped back into her apartment, rain came down hard.

* * *

><p>Chloe spent time on her hair, she spent time on her looks, she dressed in the emerald lingerie and she covered herself with shorts and vest top under the silk of the dressing gown that swept around her feet. She was the perfect mix of cute and seductive. Arrow would be a lucky man.<p>

Her eyes went to the clock, 10:35pm. She had time. She settled herself on the sofa with a movie.

But as time went on, as the hour hand closed on midnight, she turned back to the balcony doors she'd left closed, but unlocked for him.

No, she reassured herself, she couldn't get stood up twice in one night, what were the odds of that happening? She laughed and re-settled herself on the sofa to finish the last 15 minutes of the movie. Arrow would be held up on a robbery or something. He'd be there in a few minutes.

But the credits rolled and there was no green leather in sight. Just his leftover gloves on the table with the pack of cards. Sure, she could take the gloves, get a print from the inside and run his fingerprints, but… that seemed like cheating. She turned back to the clock; 12:15. He was late. 'Before midnight' were his exact words. Why was she even waiting up? It was clear he wasn't coming.

Just the story of her life.

The rain threw itself against the window, more violent than it had ever been that day. The air was cold, the blanket over her offering little comfort as she felt the familiar sting in her tearducts. Not again, she thought. But yes. It was happening all over again today. It became clearer with every mocking tick of the clock that hung on the wall. Each second was another nail in her relationship coffin.

She was alone. Again. No hero, no saviour. Nobody to love little Chloe.

She wished she could forget. Forget Oliver, forget Arrow. She wished she could run away from everyone that hurt her. But the list was starting to look awfully long.

How much longer until this rejection would stop and she could find someone to make her glow?! How long would men keep hurting her like this?

A tear slipped free, she ignored it, she refused to cry again. But, it was a losing battle.

She'd finish her deal with Lex, she decided. Then she'd be gone. Lionel may call her soft on Arrow, prey to her morals and ethics. But that weakness was over. She was cold. Cold and deadly.

Her eyes flicked to the gloves on the table. He'd left them as proof he'd be back. Proof, her ass! She snatched them from the varnished wood, her nails scratching the surface as she did. Her other hand took the stack of cards and marched to the balcony. The doors hit the windows as she threw them back, she was instantly soaked from the violent wind and rain, but she didn't care. The dressing gown whipped behind her, smashing against the door frame. Her hair was drenched, plastering to her face and splashing her as the wind snared certain strands. She released her hands grip, the goods falling to the wet stones.

This was it. The point of no return. She was cold until she handed him over to Lex. The ivory walls surrounding her heart would grow poison ivy, the walls would be higher than any man could climb, stronger than any bulldozer could break. Death came promised with every brick.

She would be as Luthor as she could until this finished: no heart.

Her hair clung to her face, her silent tears running with the rain. Yet she still searched the skyline for him. She was glutton for punishment.

Bastard! She cursed to herself. But the word felt like it healed a small crack inside her.

"Bastard!" she screamed into the rain. "You fucking bastard!" she cried out again. The rain swallowed her voice, the noise nothing more than for her own ears, but she hoped. She hoped somewhere in the back on their minds, both Oliver and the Green Arrow felt the pain from this.

Her hands gripped the railing, her clothes hugged her limbs, soaking her through to the bone. She gave them one last tear. One last tear to the men that she'd been fooled by. Maybe Arrow and Oliver were more alike than she thought. Both were fucking assholes. She ran another stream of curses before turning to the doors. But her bare foot touched a card on the floor. Face up. Queen of hearts.

Even the cards were mocking her. She lifted it, tearing it into as many pieces as possible and throwing it over the balcony. And on the balcony, wedged between two railings, the card that smiled up at her was the joker. It met her scowl and then met the same fate as the queen. Those were the two men, the Queen of hearts and the Joker. Both playing with her like some sick fantasy. She turned and stormed inside, making a point of locking the doors, sliding the curtains across and leaving her emotions outside where they belonged.

She was done. Done with these pathetic men that she fell for. Done with this life. And done with her deal.

Arrow would be turned over and she'd start anew. That was it.

Chloe threw herself into a warm shower, refusing to get ill from the stupid men in her life. Then, dried and warm, she went to bed calling the day the worse day she'd ever had since Lionel had killed her father.

That night, the first snowfall of winter fell. It didn't settle, it didn't even come into the vision of anyone who slept before 3am. But Dinah sat before Watchtowers great stained glass window, watching in the dark as little white specs fell from the sky, promising a new beginning.

* * *

><p>Chloe woke expecting a new day, a new start. But the ghosts of yesterday weren't finished with her. To add insult to injury Chloe not only woke looking like she'd spent the night crying, but the paper delivered to her door summoned an anger even her newly frozen heart couldn't evade. She'd dropped it on the table, in search of coffee. But as it unfolded, a picture caught her eye. A very familiar picture.<p>

Her eyes flew wide open and she read the headline.

"The fuck?!" she hissed to the paper.

* * *

><p>"He seems better…" Bart noted, hovering by the door, peering through the window at the cot bed. "Less 'grrr'"<p>

"Seems being the operative word." Victor spoke, joining the other guys with the necessary coffee after a very late evening trying to talk Oliver down from wrecking everything in there. Emil had given Victor the all clear, having to remove a section of his arm for the time being. Oliver would get him a new one… when he dropped his temper. As for Victor, the virus seemed to wipe out his anger when it started messing with his tech.

"Maybe we should… you know, talk to him." AC suggested.

"Let him sleep." Victor corrected again. He didn't want to be lured into thinking Oliver was under control and then have his throat ripped out by him.

"Probably best. He was screaming the city down all night." Dinah spoke up, letting herself in. She was the only one to sit with him last night, sending the other's home for sleep and to take up shift of the morning. But now, half rested and jacked up on coffee, she was back. "Plus, you'd hate for him to see this and not be locked up." She waved the morning paper before them having a second copy under her arm. One went to Victor, the other, she walked to the cell door, opened it marginally before throwing in the paper and shutting it again.

"He's going to kill us." Victor addressed them, dropping the paper to the floor. AC bent to pick it up, reading it aloud.

"Queen's back to his usual antics. Sources reveal one, Chloe Maine (pictured above) had been on the billionaires arm for three dates. Had he finally decided to settle? It seems not, the playboy didn't like the new style, leaving Miss Maine stood up at restaurant Claros last night." AC didn't need to read more.

"He missed a date…" Bart summed. "He didn't say. Why didn't he say? We should have text her, or something…"

"He can take her on another one… right?" AC asked, clueless about the relationship.

"Chloe's not much into forgiving men…" Bart echoed the knowledge. But Dinah chose that moment to kick the door of Oliver's cell three times hard.

"Wake up Green Bean and read the headline." she instructed to the grumbling form.

"What the fuck Dinah?!" AC charged over. "He's going to go mental."

"Would you rather him do it in that cell, or wait until he gets out to find out. I know which one I prefer."

"You get a kick out of torturing him! Don't pretend this doesn't make you happy." AC started. "He didn't want you Dinah, and now he can't be with her and you're thrilled by it."

"No. I'm being practical, you dick." She scowled.

"Practical? You cal-"

"Dinah's right." Vic spoke up. "It's better he hear it while we can contain it. We can't keep him in there for much longer, the drug will be wearing off, and it's better contained."

"Maybe… he'll burn out the rage…" Bart suggested, not as hopeful as he wished he was.

Silence fell as they all waited for the impending curse.

"FUCK!" Something collided with the cell, another and another. Fists? Chairs? The bed? The sound of the newspaper unwrapping and cascading down from a throw came, followed by more thumps against the wall. Each hand in hand with a curse that would make truckers flinch.

Dinah needed to know. She stepped closer, the door having the bulletproof glass as its only window. Here he was, blood covering his hands and the wall as he repeated slammed a fist into it.

"What's he doing?" Bart spoke up, coming closer. Dinah held out her hand, stopping Bart at a distance, he didn't need to see this.

"He's splitting open his knuckles." she admitted somberly. "Get something to sedate him." Her voice spoke the truth, she wasn't enjoying any of this. Seeing him ache over Chloe didn't make her feel any better, it made her feel broken too.

Bart sped the distance across watchtower, picked the dart gun and ran back to the cell. Dinah took it from him and leant against the wall, one hand on the handle, the other aiming the gun. He was too preoccupied with his curses to notice her presence, or the way something bit his thigh, or how the drowsiness he woke with was calling him back.

Dinah stood again, tears brimming her eyes. She turned away from the boys as they caught sight of her.

"Put him back on the cot and tape up his knuckles." she ordered, solumn and quiet. She walked to the bathroom, locking herself in swiftly.

* * *

><p>Lex watched the live security feed, watching as Chloe cursed at the newspaper headline she was reading. The exact same headline sat open on his desk, he'd seen her cry herself to sleep last night, now he knew why. Queen hadn't stopped his old antics, and Chloe had made the mistake of having feelings for him. He watched her curse wildly as she stormed around the room, her eyes reading the paper she wanted to burn. When she reached for her phone, Lex hovered his hand over his, knowing where her mind was going.<p>

The ringing began a second later. He let it ring twice, watching her bite her nails, then answered.

"I saw the headline." he greeted her.

"Yeah, about that. I thought your contacts were meant to stop my picture from being in _any_ newspaper while I was here." She did well to cover the sadness, but the anger was lashing out, looking for someone to blame that wasn't herself.

"As omnipotent as you believe me to be, I cannot control every human on this planet. But, I can fire this photographer if it would reduce your humiliation." he offered, knowing he would stir her temper again.

"Humiliation?! I'm not humiliated. I'm pissed. This is entirely out of context."

"I see." he lied. "What did Queen have to say about this?"

"He's… he's not happy either." He watched her fingers come back to her mouth. Her anger stumbled as she lied again.

"And Queen, has he taken interest in the business?" Chloe turned, her fingers back to her laptop.

"I haven't checked. I've been busy. I can do it now."

"I asked you to do this days ago Chloe."

"Arrow's been keeping me busy." she lied as she tapped out and accessed a gateway she'd built herself earlier.

"Really?" Lex leant back in his chair, wondering how much she thought she could lie to him about. "What have you been doing?"

"Ummm, just the archery ranges. There's a lot of people to check through."

"I see." Lex muttered, flicking through his appointments for today. He had to go into Luthorcorp. In the back of his mind, he thought about ordering her back to the mansion. But… there was that other darker side, that one that told him he could wait until she invited Arrow back, and catch them both red handed. Two birds, one stone. Lex grinned. "Any luck so far?" he continued the conversation.

"I'm working through it." she simply replied. "It's not in any electronic documents. There's not even a mention on a memo." she dutifully informed Lex.

"Well, that would mean you're not doing your job very well."

"I can't force someone to do something. I said I'd keep him busy and that's what I've done." she argued, snapping the laptop closed.

"And now what are you going to do Chloe? You've lost your contact with him. This newspaper scandal is going to make it impossible for you to keep your identity. All it takes is one reporter doing some digging."

"No. I can still work this. It doesn't need personal contact." she disagreed, sounding desperate. Lex shook his head slowly, the woman couldn't let anything go. Anything but her loyalty to a binding contract it seemed.

"The window's closed Chloe." Lex told her sternly. "You can focus on Arrow solely now. I want an update by the end of the week."

"Lex, this isn't the end. I can keep working. I've go-"

"You failed. Accept it, and thank your lucky stars I'm not my father." And Lex hung up the phone.

The video feed showed Chloe throwing the phone across the other side of the room, running her fingers through her hair then cursing to the air. Lex turned his lips up again. Chloe could never shut off her emotions, she was ruled by them. And now, damaged and hurt, she'd turn to sex as a comfort. And he'd be the one to pounce as soon as Arrow was in her bedroom, under a false belief of comfort.

Lex dialled out to his security manager, insisting a team be positioned in her building, eyes on the video feed and to detain Arrow as soon as he stepped foot into Chloe's apartment again.

* * *

><p>Oliver sat on the cot. His knuckles ached, his head pounded. The leftover RL drug in his system had fixed the surface damage, but beneath; he hurt badly.<p>

He reached a finger over her image again. He'd broken his promise.

She looked like the woman he'd met the first day. The cold closed off wreck Luthor had manipulated.

It was for coping.

For coping with the ache in her heart.

He knew because he was building himself one.

If you were cold, you didn't feel the sting of a broken heart.

His finger stroked the image.

She looked so empty. So lifeless.

She was without her smile, her laugh.

Without her body pressed to his.

"Sane yet?"

He ignored Dinah's voice.

He was alive because of what they did.

But Chloe was hurting because of what they did.

"You can fix things." Dinah spoke again. Again, he ignored her. "I went to see her. Before." she admitted. "She's wonderful, she really is… I told her everything she needed to hunt you or Arrow, and she did neither…and… she loved you Ollie." He heard her voice waver. "And there's no denying you love her. You wouldn't hurt this much if you didn't." Her voice cracked and he heard the sniffles of an emotional woman. "You told me the greatest loves don't come easily." she quoted back to him. "This is just another bump in the road." Oliver took another long look at the newspaper. "You'll be… You two are… you're meant for each other." Oliver saw nothing but the hurt he'd caused, and after he'd said for so long that he wouldn't hurt her, that he'd stay, that he'd never leave her. "You've never been happier Oliver. Things have to work out between you two. I'll… I'll go and talk to her. Tell her Green Arrow had you locke-"

"Leave her Dinah."

"I can-"

"She's been hurt enough. Just… let her heal…" and Oliver took one last look at the newspaper image. She was broken, and it was all his fault. He just… he wanted to… He wanted to kiss her one last time, he wanted to hold her. He wanted her to smile for him again.

His eyes looked back at her emotionless hard features. His fingers released the paper, her picture tumbling to land face up on the floor. He laid back in the cot and closed his eyes, trying to remember the last kiss he'd tasted from her sweet lips, and… he had nothing.

Dinah stood, tears sliding down her face in free fall, she watched silently as Oliver's closed eyes grew tears of their own.

Hearts had different ways of breaking, Dinah had spent weeks with hers slowly cracking. Chloe had probably been losing piece by piece the longer she sat alone in that restaurant. But Oliver. Oliver had taken a sledgehammer to his heart: there in one second, dust in the next.

A fist slammed against the wall making Dinah jump. She opened her eyes again, Oliver lay with one hand across his eyes, the other resting against the wall after its outburst.

His hands would be lucky if they made it through the night without any more damage.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Next chapter is happier, promise (Can't really get worse. Or can it... Hehehehe).<p>

**Preview;** Chloe gets curious about where Oliver is. Oliver finally gets released from his 'anger management' cell. I wonder where he'll go first...


	33. Darkness Past

Happy Monday guys :D You're amazing, you really are. Reviews are always such a pleasure to read, you really perk up my Tuesdays :)

This week, feel the fabrics of Oliver's double identity unraveling. Yes, we're close to _that_ time.

Thanks for everyone who's stuck with the story so far, you're troopers ;)

**Previously; **A whole lot of emotion. Chloe was 'stood up' by Oliver. Then, she saw a repeat the same night with Green Arrow. What a bad night! It didn't get any better for either of them as the newspaper publicly flashed her worst moment for the world. Lex has a new plan, and set up security to rush in the moment Arrow steps foot into Chloe's penthouse. Dinah put aside her own wants and joined team Chollie!

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Three; Darkness Past<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>You told me to stop feeling sorry for myself. These were the cards fate had dealt me, and it was best that I accept it and move on.'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season Two, Episode Red)

* * *

><p>Chloe had never been able to accept failure. It was probably stemmed to her lust for knowledge, her incurable curiosity and inability to let things go. So, she sat at her laptop nursing the hand she'd throw into a wall in a fit of rage and she started looking through Queen's bank accounts. It had him booking a room at Starwood Regency Hotels. Maybe she could have something sent to him there, she had a few contacts in Hong Kong… she thought. They hadn't talked in a while, but Chloe had gathered favours from around the world. First, she needed details, his room number, then she could start organising her punishment for him. He'd be dead on his feet when she finished. So, she accessed the website for the hotel and rang the desk.<p>

But… her response did nothing to ease her curiosity. Yes, Mr Queen had a room booked, but he hadn't even checked in. He wasn't there.

Where was he? She pondered, drumming her fingers of her good hand on the table top. He must have checked in by now if he was there. So… he wasn't there.

Her next phone call was back to the assistant of Queen Industries, but she told her the same thing she'd told her before. Mr Queen was away on business and was not in the country.

If he wasn't in America… and he wasn't in Hong Kong…

Where was he?

Chloe needed to know now. In her mind, she wasn't looking for the man who rejected her, but the job that had suddenly wandered off. Where would a billionaire be without the press being all over it? They pretty much watched his door for the opportunity to get a picture of him tripping over the doormat.

She re-adjusted the icepack over her left hand and continued the search with her right. She wasn't bleeding, and nothing had been broken, but her emotions had refused to be ignored and demanded she throw them at the nearest wall. But, despite the pain, she found she could deal with physical pain better than she could emotional. Physical pain had ice-packs and drugs. Emotional pain had no cure. Chloe hacked into the flight logs of Metropolis airport where Queen kept his plane. She couldn't browse too much, if she wanted any extra information, she would need an inside man, but she could view logs. She found Queen's plane easily. It was the only private jet to leave that day. Metropolis to Hong Kong. The plane had certainly gone to Hong Kong… but had Queen?

Chloe tapped out a melody with her fingers while she stared at the screen thinking. Where was he?

Men like Queen don't just disappear.

If his plane had crashed, it would have made news.

If he'd been killed or the plane hijacked, it would have made breaking news.

If the plane was redirected, it would show up in the logs.

So… where was he?

She had to know. There was no other way. She refused to fail this job, and for that, she needed Queen. So, he was going to be found, whether he liked it or not.

Her fingers scrolled the long list of contacts on her mobile. Almost all named by code or the town where she met them. She called 'Henson'. Henson being the town where her criminal activity almost met a grizzly end.

"Adam?" she spoke to the dear friend as he answered the mobile. So 'dear friend' was a lie. He was more of an 'old' friend.

"Who is this?" An old friend who thought she was called Sarah.

"A friend from the past with a lot of information you don't want leaking out." She could almost imagine his blue eyes flying wide as he recollected the voice.

"Jesus, Sarah? You swore we were finished!" he hissed.

"I need something else."

"No, we're done." he vehemently disagreed. As much as she hated doing this, she needed it.

"We _were_ done." she corrected.

"Not now. I have a wife, and kids." he begged, knowing she wasn't bluffing.

"And they will never find out how you earned that shiny promotion if you do this one last thing for me." she purred, her voice soft and teasing.

"Last thing. You swear?" he sighed, accepting his fate.

"Promise." This time, she swore to herself she would keep this promise. "I need you to call the control tower at Metropolis air strip. I need to know the number of passengers on a flight." Chloe could easily hack to view flights. But to hack to view additional information was a lot of work she didn't need. Not when there was an easier way.

"Why?" he asked. He never could stop at just a yes or a no.

"It's important."

"I can't just ring up and ask." He hissed.

"Of course not, otherwise I would have done it myself. Give them your badge number, say it's in relation to a pending investigating into a smuggling ring." she instructed.

"I'm homicide though." he stated. Not the brightest in the bunch.

"How did you get there Adam?" she reminded him. Chloe had stumbled across a very very bad man's hide out while snooping around the city, she'd traded it to a rookie cop in exchange for him to let her slip his fingers. He got a promotion for taking down a serial killer single handedly, she got to skip the country. They were meant to part ways forever, but you never know when you need a dirty cop willing to let a fugitive escape in exchange for information she had gathered illegally.

"But, I can't just lie to them."

"Then maybe you should have thought of that when you lied to your captain. All it takes is one phonecall to end your career." Adam letting her go, was at the time when the police department had got the closest they ever had on her. No-one had been as close. There was still fingers being pointed to pass blame for how she escaped when they were so close. If anyone found out Adam had let her go. They'd take his badge.

"I straightened myself out Sarah…"

"And this will be forever behind you, as soon as you get me the information."

"Damn it, give me the details." he relented and she passed the flight number across to him.

Chloe switched on the coffee maker, knowing it wouldn't take long. True enough, it took less than three minutes for a reply.

"What you get for me Adam?" she purred, her eyes on the brewing machine.

"Whatever flight that was, it's a private jet. Nobody other than the two pilots were aboard. It was cleared as a training session to fly to Hong Kong and then back again tomorrow."

She felt like dancing across the room screaming that she was right. Instead, she double checked.

"Names of the pilots?"

"Mark Jacobs and Henry Allot." he reeled off the paper.

That was it. Oliver was not on that flight. But, his assistant didn't know that. Where was he actually? His apartment? Hiding out for some reason? What did Oliver have to hide from?

"You'll never hear from me again." she vowed, her coat already on her arm and keys in hand.

Queen was hiding his tracks well. Not just from her… what was he doing?

Her curiosity wouldn't be sated until she knew.

* * *

><p>Chloe sat outside Queen's apartment in her car. No lights on. It didn't mean he wasn't in but it did mean the mystery was growing. She stepped from the car, inputting the code to his elevator he had still yet to change and prepared herself for the possibility of Oliver on the other side. But, the death trap opened to an empty living room, and empty kitchen… an empty apartment. She walked the apartment silently, each step asking where he was. He wasn't away on business, but he wanted people to think he was. He wasn't at his apartment. What other properties did he have?<p>

Lots. Holiday homes across the globe. But the closest he owned was the other apartment block in Metropolis which he was setting up for Arrow.

She didn't really want to see Arrow. And, she highly doubted he would be there. She took herself closer to his office, intending for a further snoop. He must have left a paper trail somewhere. His internet history should have a search for hotels or directions. She thanked her mind for remembering the picklock and let herself into the office, intending to start up the computer and take a look through the memory. But, the computer was already on, flashing its light to show it was hibernating. Curiously Chloe lowered herself into the chair, resuming the power to the computer. It fired up quickly, the perks of money. His background was a plain blue, nothing fancy, no naked women. The internet history though, oh Chloe would probably have to bleach her eyes after sieving through that. So instead, she started on recently accessed document from the last week.

Business, business, business and, oh, guess what, more business. The man hadn't accessed anything non-work related. So, she turned to the internet and flipped up the history tab for the last week. But… there was no cascade of porn.

No… for the last week he had a volume of different jewellery sites. She rolled her eyes, probably just buying his way into another woman's bed one item at a time. She crawled through the long list. A lot were emails, some were research into the labs Green Arrow had hit. Chloe presumed he'd finally got the nerve to check out his new business associate. And then, Chloe found a file sharing link. Chloe thought to Lex's associates, they usually sent things over private servers too, this could be Oliver sending a bid in for the pharmaceutical company. Excited, she accessed the site, only to find it password encrypted. Encrypted to a value greater than usual business communications sites. To say it made her more curious was like saying nuclear war would be slightly disadvantageous for the planet. Chloe HAD to get in. She slipped in the flashdrive she always kept in her purse and let it decode the password. She set it to work while she finished with his internet sites. There wasn't much more, more research into Green Arrow. Browsing of a few restaurants. Nothing out of the ordinary for a billionaires life style. Which left her stumped again… if there was no trail as to where he was… where was he?

At another woman's house?

At Tess's?

She felt a rage build in the bottom of her gut, but it didn't get a chance to bloom before the password was cracked.

'Justice'

His password was justice?

She opened the file, it was a transfer that had been received by five other people. The file opened and she instantly recognised it. It was the Nexus labs plans. What the hell was Oliver doing with the plans to Nexus? The original plans…

Was Arrow looking for a piggy bank for his destruction of Luthor property?

Or was Oliver closer tied to it than that?

Chloe closed the file and looked at the other five recipients. Their IP addresses were scrambled. Highly scrambled. She sighed. She couldn't crack that tonight. Not with the flashdrive. She'd need more, and not to mention she'd need a track and trace to find the origin of the IP. She leant back on the office chair. This was taking a turn for confusing very quickly. What was Oliver up to?

Chloe reset the computer, covering her tracks and drove back to the apartment. She ordered Chinese and sat with Green Arrows files spread across the floor. She'd find a link. She'd have a breakthrough. Then she could put these bastard behind her for good.

* * *

><p>"How'd you feel?" Victor asked to Oliver through the door.<p>

"I'm fine." Oliver answered, sat on the cot. "You can open the door."

"You could probably do with another day… I mean, you did have two shots."

"And I've battered every wall with every bit of anger I had left." Oliver droned, and sighed.

"I'm not letting you go." Victor spoke, arms crossed on the other side of the door.

"That's your choice." Oliver responded. "But get me a tv or something through."

Victor chuckled and opened the door.

"You can go." he replied. Oliver narrowed his eyes. "What? Nothing wrong with a little denial to kickstart some anger."

"You're lucky I'm not in the mood to kill you." Oliver laughed and stood from the cot, stretching out his limbs. "But, I'm thinking we should keep this room."

"You foreseeing more nights like this?" Vic questioned, but already agreeing.

"Possibly. But, what vigilante group doesn't need a holding cell." he stated, walking past Victor and into freedom again. He was met by the smell of coffee, the memory of Chloe swiftly followed. Dinah smiled at him, pushing a cup his way.

But Dinah watched shocked as Oliver declined.

"So what you going to do with your new freedom?" AC asked, looking up from the video game he was playing with Bart. "Tess changed your flight dates, so you're still away on business for a few more days."

"I need to see her." Oliver just spoke, nothing else on his mind. Everyone knew which 'her' he spoke of.

"Sure that's a good idea?" Victor asked.

"It can't get worse." Oliver answered, offering nothing more. Victor looked to Dinah, but she was silent on this matter, just drank her coffee.

"I'm not so sure man. She's probably not the happiest person in the world. Especially with the paper…"

"Then I won't see her as Oliver." he summed. Victor shook his head, but otherwise kept quiet. Which was why when Dinah was the next to speak, all heads turned, not expecting the words.

"Need a ride?" she offered, the empty mug set onto the table as she lifted the keys from her pocket.

"Sure." Oliver accepted, suspicious, but otherwise trusting. Through the last day, he felt things had changed in their relationship. Dinah was no longer a bitter ex, she'd stepped entirely out of the role, she was a friend. She was accepting. Oliver followed Dinah, both ignoring the questioning eyes.

* * *

><p>Oliver stepped into his apartment with a heavy sigh. Dinah had said one word as she stopped by his apartment unexpectedly: 'shower', while adding a disapproving sniff. Yeah, it was a good idea. He still had dried blood under his nails. But as he walked into the apartment, he stopped, no energy left to encourage him forward. Truly, he didn't know what to do with himself.<p>

He sat himself on the sofa heavily, his head in his hands. He'd done nothing but think while he'd been in that cell. He knew Chloe would never forgive him. He knew he could grovel for years to come and she would never be able to smile at him like she did before. She'd never kiss him with such emotion ever again. And he couldn't live with that. Not to mention to pain it would cause her to see him. It was better for both of them to leave it as the illusion of a breakup. Oliver massaged his temples with his forefingers. He didn't know if he'd make it through the week feeling like he did.

Business, his brain supplied and his fingers stopped their motions.

Business always took his mind from things. It was needy and constantly requiring work, it would help.

But as Oliver stripped the Green Arrow leathers in exchange for sweatpants and tshirt he thought of the last things he'd done at the computer below him, and he remembered something that strummed the pain once more.

His internet history was crammed with the many jewellery shops he'd browsed trying to find the perfect fit, the perfect design.

But no woman wanted a ring from the man that had stood her up.

Oliver shut down the idea of a computer as soon as it started up. He fucking missed her, she was everywhere. A simple glance to his bed had the image of her sleeping in it, her hair across his pillow, her perfume clinging to the sheets, the duvet riding just under her bare breasts.

Fuck.

He spun from it, storming to the bathroom for a shower. But, there was the shower, a taunt over the last time he'd touched her. The last time he'd ran his fingers over her smooth skin. The last time he'd tasted her. He gripped the sink, his fist tightening to a painful point.

Fuck avoiding her.

Fuck trying to be mature.

He needed to see her.

Needed.

No sooner than 5 minutes, he was speeding through the midnight roads. To see her. To check she was alright. To talk. To apologise for breaking a promise of meeting her. To hear her voice once more. To taste one more kiss.

Oliver shifted gear the bike, cutting a new noise in the air, splitting the darkness with the sole headlight. He was coming. She just had to hold on.

* * *

><p>Chloe must have been too emotionally wiped to dream the previous night, but that night, while she let her emotions rest, the backlash of Lionel's visit came in the shape of a memory slashing her dreams.<p>

_He'd told her to dye her hair, he'd told her to dress better. He'd told her to speak like she belonged. He told, and she obeyed. She'd become Amanda Ree, socialite and dear friend to the Luthors, she'd been taken around function after function. She'd been Lionel's puppet. But this time was different._

_He took her to the balcony._

"_David Golinsky." he named. "His wife; Ronda, and child; Bella. She's just 5 years old, isn't she a gem?" Chloe turned to the small girl twirling in her new dress, trying to watch it fan out with the air as she turned. Her mother had put her hair into plaits with little bowed bobbles to secure the style. She was a princess. "You'll take her from her parents."_

"_What?" Chloe had heard some strange things from Lionel, but this was over the line._

"_Mr Golinsky has been funnelling Luthorcorp funds." he explained like he was entirely justified for kidnapping. "He takes what is mine, I will only return the favour."_

"_She's just a child!" Chloe protested._

"_And you're just an assistant." he reminded her pointedly. "If it makes you feel better, she'll be returned as soon as he agrees to give the money back."_

"_You won't take the child." she argued._

"_Oh I will Miss Sullivan. But, either I can let one of them-" He nodded to the muscle he'd brought along. "Take her from her mother's hands and leave her crying in a room all alone." No, no child should be taken. "Or, you can take her for a 'playdate' and the child will be none the wiser about her parent's transgressions."_

"_I won't do it."_

"_Fine." But as he summoned the men into action Chloe's mind flipped yet again and she intercepted his move, approaching the child and mother like nothing more than an event organiser._

"_Your daughter is lovely, what's her name?" Chloe felt like sin for every word she spoke. But Lionel called off his dogs and approached the husband alone, while she faked a pretence of showing the mother and daughter the back room of butterfly paintings._

_Chloe had to lock the room as soon as they were inside and she turned to the now worried mother._

"_What are you doing?" she hissed, moving between Chloe and the child. And she had those eyes, those eyes of disgust, or repulsion. All aimed at Chloe. They say a mother of any species is protective of her young, to the point of dying for them. The look in the mother's brown eyes certainly backed that._

"_You'll both be free to leave. My boss needs to talk to your husband alone."_

"_Your boss? Well how about you tell your boss he can back the fuck off." The woman, with no shame for her actions before the child, slammed an unexpected fist into Chloe's gut. "You're a monster." Chloe curled over in pain, the last thing she wanted was a fight with another woman in front of her child. She looked back up to those eyes. Black and hating._

"_I can't let you leave." Chloe spoke, trying to remember her reason why._

"_You're a sick bitch. I hope you burn in hell like you deserve." But she saw the next punch coming and took the woman to the floor swiftly._

"_I'll break your arm if I have to." Chloe informed her, already hating herself more than the woman could. Her daughter's scared eyes locked on the sight._

_The woman didn't give her an answer, just the scowl, telling her daughter to run. But the child was frozen, not wanting to leave her mother, and that was the only thing working in her favour tonight._

_Her phone vibrated and she took the arm hold with one hand to answer it._

'Let Daxton in'

_Chloe stepped back from the woman to the door, but before she could reach the lock, she was wiped off her feet, a fist flying at her face, connecting with her cheek and splitting her lip in the collision. Chloe watched her run her child to the door only to be forced back in.  
><em>

_She didn't know his name was Daxton until he stepped in the room, a gun poised at the females, two others following him in. Chloe knew who he was. He was Lionels dirty man, the man that pulled the trigger. Her husband had refused to give the money back.  
><em>

_"No!" Chloe called to them. But two quick taps of the trigger had a chest shot to both of the girls. The silencer made swift work of the task. Another guard was prepared though, pulling Chloe back as she cried. _

Watching the light fade from someone's eyes was an experience you couldn't ever replicate. There was pain, there was guilt, there was the helpless need to do something, something you knew you couldn't. You watched them lift begging eyes to you, asking for something to help, and you knew nothing could bring them back from death. So you had to watch the light die. If that wasn't hard enough… watching the light fade from a child was worse by miles. She'd barely lived. Barely experienced a thing. She was nothing but purity and happiness, and she looked up through dying eyes looking for a comfort none could give. She looked asking why, asking what she had done wrong… not understanding that the crime was not hers.

Chloe took the bottle of red wine from the cabinet, she didn't both with a glass, didn't bother to let it breath, just uncorked and sat in the dark taking away the memory.

* * *

><p>Arrow let himself inside the apartment, all the lights were on, but Chloe was missing. He scouted the kitchen finding nothing more than a corkscrew on the side with a cork still attached to it. She was drinking. On a hunch, he took the steps to the roof. There she was, her hair tied, but not contained by the bobble. He felt his heart pound against his chest. He missed her, he hated to see her so lost… and it was entirely his fault.<p>

Chloe sat, dangling her legs off the edge of the building. The night air still, but cold, harsh and unforgiving over her soft skin. She huddled closer to herself, the second lollipop of the night unravelled absently by her fingers. Her tongue told her it was watermelon. Strange, she thought she'd picked up strawberry. Shrugging, she took the lolly back to her mouth, figuring she had just seen the red again and forgot to read the label. Last time that happened she'd got rhubarb, at least this time she _liked_ watermelon. It had been years since the nightmares started, she'd blossomed and grown but her mind had never been able to soothe the terror as she slept. Tonight was no different. A yawn escaped as her fingers took back hold on the sugar candy.

"Rough night?" She didn't need to turn around. Didn't bother. She knew who it was, the voice distorter may as well be a golden beacon of light. But something irked her hazy mind, he could interrupt her misery, but he couldn't come see her before? She didn't reply. He didn't pick up the signal she'd hoped, his footsteps coming closer. "About the other night-" he began. Her words cut through his.

"Please just leave." Chloe knew she sounded weak. She knew it was pathetic how crumbled she was. But… she had no desire for his apology, no need for his presence. This was private pain, she needed no spectator. Her tongue collected the lollipop again and she closed her eyes, trying to block out everything else.

Arrow came closer again, noting the wine to her right, the pile of lollies to her left.

"You really like those lollies huh?" he tried again.

Chloe knew, even tipsy, she knew he wouldn't go. So she settled for giving him answers. Somewhere in her mind, it made sense.

"I used to smoke." she simply spoke around the sweet. "These are the next best thing, and they'll only rot my teeth, which I'm told is better than my lungs."

"I didn't peg you for a smoker." he replied and moved closer, crouching a few metres from her, a good distance so her fists would miss, but close enough to see her clearly.

"It's a stress thing… It _was_ a stress thing." she corrected herself, feeling the alcohol loosen her lips and stop the filter on her mind. She opened her eyes to glance back. He looked tired. "Now I have my crystallized sugar treats." She pulled a smile, but he still saw the dark circles under her eyes and the tear stains on her cheeks. The sleeve of her cardigan had a black smudge: wiped mascara?

"Are you alright?" The question knocked her back mentally and she physically turned to face him.

"Are you?" she fired back. "You do remember we work on opposite sides of the line right? Not to mention I'm not exactly happy with you." she hissed, the drunken slur coming to her 's's.

"We may have started out on different sides." he agreed. "But, now. Can you say the same?" he challenged. He was going to tell her Nexus had made him break his promise of returning to her, but she wiped under her eyes again. "Don't cry." He couldn't stand it if she cried.

"I'm not crying." she stated, showing him her lack of tears, then continued "I _was_**,** I'll admit that much. But I'm not anymore. I'm the picture of happiness." She smiled again, watching him nudge his way closer to sit on the edge of the roof a small distance away.

"Alcohol does that to me too…" he replied, nodding to the bottle she had nestled between her legs in the recent move.

"It's my winning combination." She laughed to herself. Then in a sudden gesture her hand flew out in his direction, the bottle in its grasp, her eyes still focussed on the landscape of homes, only very few lights shimmering on inside houses. "Since we're playing with a truce for tonight, I suppose I should learn to share." she suggested, wiggling the bottle, the hypnotising pull of liquor added to the scent of fruit on her breath. He took it, but not for himself, just to limit her own consumption. She'd probably forget she had it in a few seconds anyway.

"I don't drink while I'm working." he replied, catching her questioning gaze. She allowed his remark and shuffled, the lollipop back out of her mouth as she inspected the slight decrease in size.

"That's probably wise…" she accepted. Her drunken mind looked at him in the moon's light and she saw Oliver's features. Why did that man stir her sex drive still? She was meant to hate him, but here he was, twinned to Arrow and still making her want. "Do you like watermelon?" she asked out of the blue.

"I do." He grinned knowing how he could lead this. He took her hand, shuffling her closer to him. "I wouldn't mind a taste if you're willing to share…" Her eyes dropped to her candy then back to him. Sweetly, she extended across the lolly, much like a child in the playground making a new friend. He had another action in mind and slid a hand to the back of her neck, guiding her closer as he moved in for the kiss. Chloe saw it coming, and she did nothing to prevent it. Even through the alcohol haze she knew it would throw her through her Oliver related box of pain. But, she knew it would feel good, it would give her something she was familiar with. But the kiss was tender. It wasn't harsh, it wasn't demanding. It was sweet.

Chloe couldn't stand it. Arrow couldn't kiss her like this. It wasn't his style. No, that was all Oliver. Her eyes burned.

She needed to kill the pain. She swung herself back from the ledge and nudged closer, straddling him, deepening the kiss. But there was no fire, no domination. It was soft. Still! It was stirring her ache all over again. She pushed back from him, her hand thrust against the leather and ripping her lips from his. No. She couldn't take this. The burn of Queen was shredding her. Another tear slipped down and she scrambled back away from him, quiet as she hugged her knees. But his eyes were on her, she could feel it.

"We can't kiss." she spoke, he could hear the pain in her voice.

Arrow felt the pain back in his heart. He'd broken her well, he thought sickly. He wanted to hold her, he wanted her to kiss him like she loved him again.

He felt such immense guilt, it was a miracle he stopped the tears from slipping from under the shades.

But he couldn't leave her. Not like this.

So he stayed frozen, he let her calm herself again, he let her breath on her own, far from his reach.

He didn't know how long they sat in that silence, frozen in their positions, beaten by the cold air, but when she tugged at her cardigan sleeves and lifted her head to the night, he could see that composure she'd found even through a drunk mind.

"I like it here." she whispered, her eyes locked on the city. Oliver felt his breath rush out, just hearing her words again healed the ashes of his heart. "It's peaceful. Quiet." She brushed a hand to her face, carefully taking back a strand of hair. "Nothing seems important anymore when you looked over the dark city. Everyone sleeping so peacefully." She let her legs down, crossing them under her instead. "You can let your imagination free, making stories for the families with their lights on." And she managed a smile, a light breeze of laughter he could have imagined. "Like there-" and she pointed a finger high, to the top floor of the building straight opposite. "The one with the curtains open." Arrow turned to the window. "He has a night shift, and just got home. She promised she'd wait up for him and they're hopelessly in love." Arrow turned to her, a dreamy glaze over her eyes, a coy smile trying to set free. "That one, far in the distance." She started again, but Arrow didn't look, he was focussed on her, on the way her lips barely moved for her to speak. "It's a little child, terrified of the dark. He probably fell asleep hours ago, but his light still keeps him protected." She turned back, catching Arrow watching her. He turned, his hand outreached to the closest light to them.

"What about that one?" He loved to just hear her talk. Chloe shrugged after following his finger.

"He's just got a phone call to tell him his girlfriend's been run over and died." Arrow sighed. She might not be drunk, but she wasn't sober.

"You should go back to bed." he suggested. She didn't turn to him though. Just let the uncensored words tumble free.

"Why?" She reached to collect another lolly, losing track of her previous. Cherry, she read. "It will still hurt in the morning." she continued, her fingers working the wrapper. "But in the morning, I have to be composed. I have to have a happy face and do work." She lifted the lolly, inspecting the smooth spherical shape of the dark red candy. "But now. I don't have to be happy for anyone." And she slipped the candy between her lips.

Arrow noted the loose lips and aimed to take advantage.

"What about your mother, wouldn't she want you to be happy?" She scoffed a laugh.

"My mother?" She turned to him, the lolly in her hand. "You wanna hear what my mother would say about tonight?" she challenged darkly. She began without his input. "My mother would look to the skies and tell me each star was the eye of a god. She'd tell me not to be upset, or afraid, or worried, because I'm being guarded by a bunch of all these powerful gods."

"She sounds like a fascinating woman." To this, Chloe turned with an eyebrow raised.

"My mother was a loon who abandoned me." she stated and turned back to the view, watching a light turn off to her left.

"You miss her." he spoke, reading the hurt.

"Yeah." But this Chloe wasn't sad when she spoke, she was passively angry. "Because maybe if she would have stayed, I wouldn't have been in this fucking mess." She snapped, then sighed. "And if you didn't have this stupid notion of saving pathetic people, I wouldn't even be here, I wouldn't be on this roof, and I wouldn't be drinking. And, it's your fault if I get a hangover, because you couldn't just let things lie." She turned to him, her slur worsening, her hand searching for the alcohol he still had. "It's your fault Lex is even building these stupid facilities and areas and pens and whatever the fuck he calls them. If you would have just kept it in your fucking quiver, no-one would be in this mess." Chloe didn't see the way he sat rigid, nor the way his jaw set deadly. She saw the red haze of booze, the need to blame someone for her problems.

"You need to go to sleep." Chloe turned to the dark voice, darker than it had been before.

"No. I need a life without you in it." She sneered back at him.

"You're drunk." he told himself aloud.

"So what?" she challenged, a glimmer in her eye that wanted him to get angry with her. She followed his motions, but as he stood, she didn't get the pleasure of him leaving. No, he just took the lolly from her hand, throwing it to the streets and lifting her to her feet, then over his shoulder. She protested the entire way, she called him every name he never wanted to hear leave her lips and he dropped her onto her bed none too kindly.

"You're very lucky." he ground out as she bounced on the bed, trying to find her footing again. There was something deadly in his tone, something that made her spine shiver. "You're _very_ lucky." he repeated. If he hadn't beat out his temper wrecking his fist, she would have taken the last of it tonight. Yes, she was exceptionally lucky he reigned back the hot anger telling him to silence her insults. Arrow had beaten women, sadly not all criminals were male, and not all female criminals would go willingly, some were willingly to shiv him to escape, so no, he couldn't say he'd never laid a hand on a woman. But a lady, no, he'd never hit a lady… but Chloe, she was blurring the damn line.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX -<strong>

* * *

><p>Chloe's getting closer. Oliver's feeling the consequences of his choices. It's all getting exciting.<p>

It's only a matter of time before everything comes apart. I wonder how Chloe will react... (Who am I kidding?! I already know, hehehe) Would love to hear your theories.

Reviews are always welcome.

Reviewers can have the unlimited good feelings of making a writer the happiest writer on earth for the low low price of one review :D

As always, I'll see you same time, same place, next week.  
>Xx<p> 


	34. Curiosity's Reward

This chapter, I dedicate to the 200+ readers who are still with me, still coming every Monday and reading the progression. I know you've all waited a long time for this chapter, and my friends; it has finally arrived.

In other news; Paul Walker is dead. R.I.P. I adore the F&F franchise and all its movies and the news pretty much shattered me. So I ended up in my duvet on the sofa watching a F&F marathon with my housemate, alcohol and chocolate. Why does this have to happen? Why can't we all be immortal? (and possibly sterilized to prevent over population issues). So yeah... been an interesting yesterday.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously; <strong>Chloe rang an old contact to find Oliver had never left Metropolis. Naturally, this led to her snooping around his apartment, cracking his password 'Justice' and seeing he was chatting to other people about Nexus plans over a secure server. She decided to come back again and get IP addresses and locate these people. Oliver finally found his post-RL freedom and went to see Chloe. Only dear Chloe had been plagued by nightmares of her past with Lionel and ended up drinking on the roof and saying ALL the wrong things to dear Ollie.

**Now;** Everything comes undone.

Note: Lex is waiting to catch Green Arrow _with_ Chloe. So he can confront her about her lies and him for his identity. It's all about timing darlings. Arrow wasn't captured after dropping Chloe into her bed, because Lex wants to catch them lovely dovey, not fighting. He's biding his time...

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Four; Curiosity's Reward<span>

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><p>'<em>Montaigne said; obsession was the wellspring of genius and madness.'<em> – Lex Luthor (Season Two, Episode Visitor)

* * *

><p>Chloe woke with a pounding in her head she wished would cease immediately.<p>

Something shrill was making a noise. It had woken her up. She cursed at it, then cursed a lot quieter and stumbled her way through the bright kitchen, squinting to calm the explosion behind her eyes.

She pulled down the tablets, tugging down a new jar of coffee and sugar as she did. The coffee jar smashed, the floor and her legs dusted with brown powder, the noise splitting her head. The sugar followed, hitting her foot and shooting more pain up her.

Her stomach swirled, her head thumped, but the tablets were taken back to her bedroom and she tossed two back with some water. The music was back again, her phone. And jesus it was making a hell of a racket. She stumbled across the room, well aware of the coffee she was printing onto the carpet and dropped herself to the floor next to her phone as she answered it and cut off the infuriating noise.

"Hello?" she managed to speak, her voice raw.

"Rough night?" But this was Lex's voice and she wanted to grumble.

"Lionel came." she dutifully informed him.

"I saw." he replied, mercifully lowering the volume of his voice by the slightest amount. "What about?"

"Just wanted me to know he knew where I was. What I was doing." she replied, holding the phone further from her ear to try and stop each pounding that came with listening to noise.

"I see." And she heard Lex's chair squeak as he leant back. She narrowed her eyes at the phone. "I thought I'd let you know Nexus was a failure."

"What?" she asked, genuinely confused. Nexus was what? Oh, the lab. "Why?"

"They all escaped. Unharmed." Lex lied, unbeknownst to Chloe.

"When?"

"Last night." he lied again.

"Oh. What happened?" she asked, trying to keep a focus on the topic though her brain felt far too big for her head.

"The same as usual." he simply replied. "Not an entire bust. The blur cannot cross the meteor rocks it seems."

"That's good news." she tried for enthusiasm, but failed.

"The only piece." Lex snapped. "We need a new plan." he began again. "I need all you have on Green Arrow."

"I'm almost finished sorting through what I already have to present for you." she answered, trying to please him. Again, she failed.

"I'll call when I need you. And you better have something worthwhile." And then the line was dead. Chloe looked back at the dead phone. Then to the coffee on her bare legs.

She groaned and flopped herself onto her back. Today was not a good day.

* * *

><p>By the time Chloe could see straight again, the apartment was clean, she was showered and her coffee intake was shockingly high. She'd compiled Lex's list and was calling for the driver, pulling on her coat and stuffed bag of electronics. She was going to crack the Oliver mystery wide open, and she had all the tools she needed right there with her this time. She'd copy his hard drive if necessary, but something was wrong about him. She was going to find out what, by tonight.<p>

She was quick in the flats, fast walking in the black slacks and light blue blouse. The cream coat hung open over her, no time for fastening it in her rush. The driver opened her door and sped to the address in record time.

No car outside, no Oliver. Still.

She watched her car drive off and inputted the code into the elevator, again, it sped her up without more bother than a few shakes and she was back in Oliver's study in her chair within minutes. She unpacked her software and started the IP trace.

She even got up to make herself a coffee. She had no thought, no niggle that he might come back and catch her, no worry. It was strange how comfortable she felt, but her comfort came from the abandoned apartment, and the fact his jet wasn't meant to return until tomorrow. She was positive he'd be MIA until at least then. So she drank from the mug of coffee while the tracker pinged several locations.

She ran the locations through tenant registry and as she sorted through them, she found the identity of the five communications Oliver was file sharing with. Arthur Curry and Victor Stone were the easiest to pin, their identities barely changed from Driver's License to functioning vigilantes. Next, she found the location of Bart Allen, the third in the team of heroes. And as she crossed images with names of tenants in the building, one popped up that rang a bell. Dinah Lance. Her problem employee for Queen. Or… Black Canary.

Her she was, sitting atop a gold mine. Lex would pay generously for these names.

Chloe smiled, fishing for the last IP address, it would be Green Arrow, and she _would_ find her mark. But the last address was in Smallville, at a residence she had loved; the Kent farm. There was no way Clark Kent was anything more than a farm boy, so what the hell was he doing accessing the nexus plans? And where was Green Arrow on this list. Chloe ran her fingers through her hair. But, as she sat in silence, working her brain through this mess, she heard the definitive sound of the elevator.

What the fuck?!

He wasn't meant to be back!

Chloe scrambled from the chair. Closing all programmes and removing all hardware. But the elevator opened while she was still in the doorway of the office, her eyes peering around the barely open door.

There he was; Queen. Perfectly fine and healthy, cell phone in hand.

She wanted to punch him. So fucking badly.

"Hey." he began, talking on the phone softly. "No, don't worry Clark." Kent? Clark Kent?! What the hell was going on here? "But I've got a breakthrough in my hands. One you'll want to see." Oliver looked down at the manila envelope in his grasp. Chloe leant closer to the door, wanting to see the breakthrough. "Yeah. Alright." And he hung up, but the very same second, the elevator kicked up the noise again, and Oliver stood by it, pulling images from the package he held.

The doors opened and he held out the documents for the man that stepped through. The man… wait, no. That was Clark Kent. But he'd only _just_ hung up the phone to him…

Chloe's brain was speeding a mile a minute, what the hell was happening?

"What is it?" Clark asked, taking the evidence. His voice was a wave of nostalgia, it had been so long since she'd heard that warm tone.

"Recognise her?" Oliver asked, smug.

"Yeah." he answered. Chloe couldn't believe she was seeing Clark again. Here, of all places. He was taller, more muscled, but most definitely Clark. "She's the one in the alley when Lex's guys were on you." Chloe's happiness at seeing Clark again skidded and did a 180. Who was where in what alley and why was Lex on Oliver? What the hell was going on? She'd never been more confused in her life.

"How about here?" Oliver asked again, taking off the top photo. Chloe strained, but there was no way she could see what they were looking at.

"Seriously?" Clark's smile faltered, those crinkles above his brow coming back like his teenage self would find when having difficulty with something. Before, it was math, now, it was that photo. "There's no way." Who was on the photo?!

"There is." Oliver replied, leaning against the wall. "She goes missing for years, then suddenly this girl just pops back up in a contract to the Luthors." Her? Was it her? It had to be… But, how did Oliver know about her contract with Lionel?! Had Arrow told him?

"I can't believe she's alive." Clark spoke, his voice filled with hope. "Lois is going to go insane." Chloe put herself back against the wall, her mind was sitting on a carousel of the word shit. She'd been made, her cover blown. Everything was ruined. The shit had hit the fan big style. There was no undoing this. She was well and truly ruined. Fucking Oliver! He couldn't just be satisfied with ruining her romantic relations, no, he had to fuck with her life and future as well. Oh, she wanted to ram her fist through his skull so fucking much. "Where is she now?" she heard Clark ask and peered back through the gap, her breathing harsh and angry.

"Apartment. I dropped by last night." Oh great, so now Oliver was stalking her, dropping by while she was knocked out on an alcohol binge. How the fuck did he even get in?!

"We should go." Clark insisted, already turning back to the elevator, but Oliver grabbed his arm quickly.

"And do what?" Oliver challenged. "Break down the door, steal the girl and force her to her old life? There's a reason she still shut out Lois and her family. We need to find out what."

"Lex probably has something over her." Clark sighed, disheartened. Chloe stood silence, mouth agape without a comprehensive thought in her head.

"We need to find out what." Oliver summed. "I'll go there tonight, she'll talk to me." Chloe felt the rage boil. If he thought she was even going to open the fucking door for him he was sourly mistaken.

"Go now." Clark corrected. "I'll get Bart to keep an eye on her." Bart? What was he doing in this?

"Probably best. She'll bolt if she thinks anything is wrong." Oliver agreed and walked from view. Clark picked up his phone. Chloe heard something metal click in the direction Oliver went, but she couldn't see. She listened to Clark, his voice oddly soothing to her confused mind.

"Impulse, Chloe needs surveillance." Impulse? Why was Clark calling him the codename? "I gotta be back at Smallville in-" Clark spun his watch up. "4 minutes." he finished. Chloe stared at Clark, answers were stepping from the fog… very slowly. "Yeah, Lois will kill me if I'm late again." Clark chuckled, but without a worry. "She'd find a way." The IP address to the farm, the codenames. But… Clark couldn't be a team member right. Other than Arrow… there was only… the blur.

Chloe's eyes went wide, the way they did when you finally found out a secret that had been teasing you. But… there was no way, right?

Right?!

"Boyscout. Tell him look but not touch!" Oliver's voice came across the area. Boyscout? Boyscout?

Oh god… Clark was the blur. Her heart was battering her chest, racing like mad as her mind was whizzing a mile a minute.

Clark chuckled, relaying the message to the phone, wrapping up and finishing. Oliver's voice came again, closer this time. "Sullivan huh?" he started, his form still out of view. "Her dad's Gabe right?"

"He died in a car accident." Clark supplied, but Chloe felt the tears sting and blood boil. He was killed, he didn't just die! Her temperature was burning, her fists were tightening, her heart pounding and her mind throwing around the new information with a vigour she'd never had.

"Yeah, she didn't seem too happy to have me see her at his gravestone." Oliver spoke again, with a chuckle. "Told me he was a friend." Wait… No… she told Arrow that. Oliver wasn't even on her radar at that point.

But then Oliver came back into view, his hands on a bow, his fingers stroking Arrows with green fletching, green leather covering him head to toe, the hood flipped down and sunglasses in his hand.

Chloe felt the last piece of her puzzle click, her heart sinking to her stomach. She felt sick as the reality hit her.

"Sure she'll talk to you?" Clark asked.

"Yeah. She'll talk." Chloe felt the chill rocket through her as the voice distorter she knew so well covered the vocal chords, sending the words like a threat through to her bone. She stayed in her hiding place, shaking like a leaf as she watched the doors of the elevator close around the both of them. Seconds later she was dropping to the floor of the office, her hand over her mouth, tearless sobs raking from her throat.

Oliver was Green Arrow.

Her anger chilled, Goosebumps over her skin.

Every inch of her shook. Her stomach swirled with hungry sharks. What had she done? Oliver was Arrow…

Her hand went to her stomach as she felt the sweep of an ill feeling wash over her.

Every touch, every kiss… oh god…

Chloe sprinted from the office to the bathroom next to her, slamming the door against the wall and throwing up her lunch into the toilet bowl, tears stinging at her eyes all the time. But the heaves relented, her throat's pain dulled and she felt the cold clamour of sweat cover her body.

No… this was wrong.

He couldn't be.

But she'd seen it herself, she'd pretty much proven it electronically… and now… now she was faced with a reality she couldn't comprehend.

Why?

Why the hell did Queen bother with this vigilante crap? Why couldn't he have just been satisfied with him money and his women.

But more things were sliding into place.

The jaw. The fucking jawline! How had she be so stupid to not even think of the logical reasoning?! How had she deluded herself into thinking otherwise?!

She was so stupid.

So damn stupid!

Chloe ran her fingers through her hair, tugging on the strands in despair.

What the hell had Queen done to fuck with her mind so much?!

He'd clearly hired a decoy to pretend to play Green Arrow for her.

But as memories came, an avalanche of truth followed.

Arrow saving her from thugs in the alley… That was Oliver.

Arrow breaking into Lex's office at night… Arrow kissing her. That was… Oliver.

Riding the back of Arrow's bike. Lex's hired hands beating _Oliver_ within an inch of his life because of her. He… _Oliver_ got her off in an alley. The same Oliver that had this stupid dating rule had already tasted her, had already heard her scream, already played her body up and down.

Her father's grave. Lex's labs. Warning _Oliver_ about Nexus. Him breaking into her room. Oh God, she called the guards on Oliver. Lex could have had him that night. Could have shot him, unmasked him… she could have finished his life because of her stupid actions.

The memories swarmed again, playing out.

The next time… the next time she saw Arrow it was after meeting Queen again, when she'd agreed to date him, then… he must have followed her back to the mansion, because as soon as she got there, he was watching her swim the lengths of the Luthor pool. Then, breaking into the tailors with him, almost fucking him on the shop floor.

Chloe ran her fingers through her hair yet again, the shakes of her hand still not stopped yet. Her mind was spinning, nothing safe footing for her thoughts.

The reason why Arrow couldn't save her the night of their first date. This kisses, the fighting, the damn jaw. She'd been so close that night, and then his decoy had de-railed her entirely. Oliver's bruises from the poker match, he must have covered them while playing Arrow.

Then… the next time, he had been fucking with Lex's system and taken her night from her while she fixed it. Was it all just a plan of Oliver's to ensure she was kept busy? No. When she told Oliver, he looked guilty. The date more than enough to make up for his crimes as Arrow that night. He felt for her.

Did that make what he did worse? Or better? She didn't know.

The money Oliver had put into Arrow's summer home. There was no job, there was just a money trail he hadn't had time to eradicate yet.

The way he'd been out on a 'business emergency' late at night when she'd called for him. Dinah throwing her further from his trail, protecting her leader.

She'd played poker with Oliver. No wonder he slapped his cards to the table each hand. But… then…

Again, reality bled bright red in a way she didn't want to see. Oliver's business trip, the Nexus plans, Green Arrow running from their match… Oliver standing her up.

He'd been bruised or something. Maybe he was taking care of an injured teammate. Maybe he _was_ the injured teammate.

Last night… sat on the roof with him. His anger.

He'd used RL-65 she'd bet.

Oh God.

What had she stumbled across?

Chloe felt the ache in her stomach return and she turned to the toilet again. But this time… she mercifully held whatever was left in her stomach.

Why? Why did Oliver have to be Arrow?!

Why him?

But what had she expected, she questioned herself. Did she expect some low life criminal with a bigger conscience? A street vender with a vengeance? A banker with a grudge?

Who else fit the profile, but the bored billionaire?

Chloe sat against the sink, her back hitting the cold surface and not caring. Oliver.

He hadn't left her in that restaurant… he hadn't forgotten about her.

The tears dripped freely.

But what was she going to do?

* * *

><p>Chloe had taken her escape as soon as the sickness passed, leaving everything as exact as it once was when she entered. But Arrow was at her apartment… no, not Arrow. <em>Oliver<em> was at her apartment. She couldn't deal with that. She'd decided against calling the car to take her home and walked from the apartment, numbly following her feet in whichever direction they wanted.

She stumbled, she almost tripped on the uneven pavements that littered the city and she must have accidentally walked into the path of over 20 pedestrians, not to mention 5 cars. But, she offered nothing more than a muttered apology then stumbled on her way. She must have looked drunk, or zombified to the passing audience, but that was the beauty of Metropolis; there were so many people, it didn't matter about the one rare person walking past in a daze.

Chloe found her exhaustion crash through her numbness as she walked the park, past dog walkers and happy couples. She took a turn out of view and sat under the shade of a great oak.

She couldn't go back to Oliver. Not without telling him she knew about his alter ego.

And… she couldn't know about his alter ego… it brought too many problems.

But it came down to an important decision for her. Did she tell Lex and win her freedom? Or did she keep quiet, and stay shackled forever?

But something Lionel said was building at the back of her mind… Lex would grow into him. He had to. Men like Lex craved power, and staying the same only kept you at the same level. While there was still power to claim, Lex would keep selling his soul to have it… and yes, he would end up like Lionel. She needed to act before this happened.

So, no, she couldn't stay with Lex for the rest of her life. And she certainly wasn't taking the easy way out and killing herself. So… she had to get out.

Surely when Lex found out, things wouldn't be that bad for Oliver.

He wouldn't chain him up… right?

I mean, they were business men. Lex was expecting a street runt like she'd once been. Arrow being Oliver turned the tables a lot.

Lex… he would probably keep it under his hat, use the knowledge to blackmail Queen.

Right?

And Chloe would be far away, she'd be gone from this place. She wouldn't ever come back, besides, she had no home here anymore. No-one to hold close, nowhere to be. She would leave her old self behind and start all over again. All over again. She'd bring nothing with her but the money… and the bittersweet memories.

Her phone vibrated, stirring her from her deep thoughts.

Bart. Asking where she was. Oliver had probably realised she was not there. She stared at the message… but what was she to put? Ignoring him was no answer, he would stake out the place, anything she replied without importance would either call him to her, or her to him.

So she tapped out a reply telling him she was busy working for Lex and that she'd chat later. He responded quickly to it, but she ignored it.

But there were negatives to living in Metropolis, one was playing right before her as a couple stumbled from the path in each others embrace clearly looking for a quickie in the bushes. Chloe stood, making her escape before she ended up a voyeur and started her walking again, this time with less collisions.

Was there something else Lex wanted from her? Something else she could trade? She'd asked herself the same question for years, but now she _needed_ to have an answer.

But Lex was a man that could access most things for himself. Chloe had very little to offer. Very little indeed. Her talents lie in computers, and logic, both Lex could hire for money. So, that left exploiting his criminal interests as her only chances. But he could handle the majority himself, it was only the time she was putting into Arrow and his band of misfits that was gaining her the freedom she desired.

Her feet walked her down the streets, heading to the docks. She knew solely because of the smell of fish, otherwise she never went down there for any purpose. But she kept walking, no reason to stop (despite the smell).

Would it be so bad to hand him over to Lex? She pondered again.

She thought it over, the ideas dark as they passed. She had a mission, a good soldier completed the mission.

Besides, Oliver was just a man, a man like all others. It was only her personal feelings that stopped her.

Those damn feelings that had brought her so much pain.

She didn't want them, and she didn't want to stay shackled to Lex. So… she'd turn them off, and she'd turn him over.

No.

No.

That was NOT the right thing. Yes, she'd done her job, but she wasn't Lex. This was no fun, this was no good deed. This was wrong.

But the idea remained, the seed planted by the Luthor vines that ensnared her. Luthors truly did bring out the worst. They brought out the demon, the evil… the devil buried deep within her.

The one that whispered ways to make the sick deeds seem acceptable. The one that rubbed her shoulders when she held a gun, urging her on. The black eyes that stared back at her when she tried to defy an order.

The devil inside her clawed its way into her thinking, it tugged the logic to the front and put feelings to the back.

'There's an easy way to finish this', it purred. 'A way where you win'.

But it was guilt, not an angel to battle the devil, that piped up. It was guilt that said it was wrong.

Chloe sighed, heading down the old factory lanes, instead of to the water. There were old mills and boatyards that littered this area. Chloe blinked, taking in her surroundings. How long had she been walking? She wondered, there was no way she had walked this far. But her mind had ran off with her again, and she was already passing by boatyards. She really could lose her mind at some points, no knowledge of anything but the thoughts. She must have been walking at least a good 25 minutes since the park, she presumed as she walked on. Her feet weren't hurting, which was a miracle in itself. She rolled her eyes to herself, wondering how she could be so absent from her own body's movements and started mentally planning a map back into the city. She'd head forward and then take the next right back towards the shopping district and the markets.

As was her luck, her walk home didn't go to plan. No, she got to the end of the street and heard shouting in the boatyard. The kind a man in pain makes.

The kind someone would phone the police for. But Chloe had curiosity, not fear. She forgot her turn to the market and kept on straight, into the mess of crates and old boats. Two people's voices.

But as she came closer, she realised her worry was entirely misplaced, there stood two men. One large and stout, the other the physical opposite with a deep purple coat hanging low on his body. Neither looked in pain, the sounds had stopped and there was no-one else in sight.

Chloe shrugged, leaving them to their business.

But whatever God that looked after Chloe wasn't happy unless there was a chance of Chloe's life getting worse and the skinny giant spun to her though no sound had been made. Chloe watched his eyes flash to the larger companion. Chloe saw the large man grow bigger still, his skin taking a red glow. But the red suddenly flared, the size bulged and before she could gain the motion of running, he was charging like a bull in a china shop towards her. Chloe ducked between crates, back into the warehouse.

She didn't make it past two crates before purple tailcoat cut her off with a sadistic grin.

Chloe backed up against the wood. Her curiosity was getting her into more trouble. You'd think by now she would have learned. She guessed this was her greatest weakness; she never could deny herself the knowledge she craved, good or bad. Her eyes settled on the man before her. He looked like a street performer, the ones that read fortunes and performed low budget tricks, but as this man drew cards from his pocket, unwrapped satin from around them and watched them glow green, she got the impression his _low_ budget would be _no_ budget and entirely real magic.

Her pulse skyrocketed, slamming into her throat in warning.

"You're over your balance." The tall man spoke, an air of sophistication in the words as he shuffled the deck. "Will fate let you live?" The purple tailcoat sat a low, it gave him the mystery customers would pay for, with the believable stage act customers would want. "If they happen to smile kindly… we can always try again." And he grinned bright white teeth, definitely a street performer, she summed. But what followed chilled her bones. He followed with a laugh, a laugh that could only ever be suited to a school girl possessed by satan. It was high pitched, it was a cackle and it was nothing to suit a large man. Said large man appeared to his left, hugging an axe shyly, his skin back to its usual colour, his size as he was when she first saw.

"Shall we kill her now?" the short one asked. "Let me kill her." He was clearly the simpler of the two, but she watched fascinated as his skin changed as he spoke. From red to green to orange like a fiber optic light in a child's bedroom, but this one couldn't decide on a colour at all.

"How much does she know? We need to find out." The leader spoke and urged his partner closer with a nod of his head. The man flared up red, bright red, his size growing by the second and he came closer, scaring Chloe to cowering.

"Tell us all y' know little girl." The words came out in a thick Scottish accent that hadn't been there before. Was each colour a different person? "Or we'll gut ya, an' pull out ya insides for m' hat."

Chloe pawed behind her, looking for a weapon before fear shut her down… but to no luck.

"Maybe a little _persuasion_ is in order." The taller man purred. With legs like a stick man he took a huge step back and whipped a hand above the desk his other palm held. Chloe watched as the cards moved with the hand, soaring upwards to float between his two hands with the same eerie green glow wrapped around each card. His hands split, sliding apart and the cards followed, forming a circle around him. They spirally, they chased, they danced around, protecting him like a sphere. "Maybe the ace of pentacles." he muttered to himself and a single card flew out of the chaos to hover stationary by his left hand. "No, no. The six of swords." The card flew back, another leaving formation to replace it.

Chloe knew enough to tell her he was playing with Tarot cards. She'd watched enough TV to know the death card wasn't bad; it meant a new beginning, not actual death. In fact, that death card was looking oddly appealing right now. "No. We'll leave it to the fates, let you choose your own future." The skinny man tugged his lips into a toothy grin that could mean nothing good. "How about it darling? Want your future read?"

"I think she does… she must… who wouldn't?" But Chloe turned to this new voice only to find it running freely from his timid yellowing partner in crime, a partner in crime who was shrinking himself into the background nervously.

"Hold out your hand." Chloe didn't comply. She knew better. Her fortune teller didn't appreciate this. "Hold out her hand!" Chloe suddenly found herself barrelled into by a glowing red man, pulling her right hand out across the distance. The grip was tight, probably going to leave bruises, it tightened still as she tried to fight herself free. The man had superhuman strength, barely able to make him wobble. Did the change of colour change him entirely? New voice, new strength, new personality… new superpower? "Now-" as the leader began to speak again Chloe lifted her eyes to him, fear creeping into her muscles. "Cards of my deck. What future awaits?"

Chloe had seen some things in her time alive, she'd seen crazy, shocking, horrific and heart breaking. This… this was straddling the fence between fascinating and terrifying. The cards slowed, ringing the man with decreasing speed. Chloe watched his hands move again and the cards lined in a perfect stack between the hand above his head, and that poised by his belt… all, but one card. One which held place between the two of them, one that faced him and caused a grin as the other cards dropping into his palm in a neat pile. "So I see." he chuckled darkly. "We _shall_ have fun with you." With his sole free hand, he lined the palm with the card and it began to move slowly towards Chloe.

She instinctively began to squirm, but the vice-tight grip glowing blood red around her kept her in her place. She had to get free. That killer smile he wore told her nothing good would come from that card touching her. She tried to close her hand, but the red man almost broke her fingers to hold it open.

Chloe hated where her thoughts went, she hated it… but she couldn't help it. Would Arrow look for her? Would… _Oliver_ look for her? Would he come and save her?  
>Could she make anything right before her life ended?<p>

She hated the thoughts, but it didn't stop them coming. Thankfully, the present threat calling her attention did.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>Will she be saved? What will she do about Oliver?<p> 


	35. Villains

Not in a good mood with fanfiction right now... I spent half an hour this morning editing this chapter online. I go to click save and it tells me i'm not even fluffin logged in and reverts back to the original version. So... this is my second time editing this (after a mad rage gym session), and I apologise if I miss anything.

Anyhoo, Happy Monday, and Happy December 9th, I hope you are all well.

R.I.P. Nelson Mandela. (What is it with people dying this month? Isn't December meant to be happy?!)

Reviews have been spectacular, as they usually are (you guys rock!). Yes; I do like cliff hanger endings, what can I say, the devil in me finds them beautiful. Otherwise, I bid you to relax dear viewers, I promise, EVERYTHING will work out in the end. Everyone will get what's coming to them.

My favorite Smallville Quote sits below, it's just beautiful, it sums up the entire bad guy plot of Smallville and also this story, so yes; I LOVE this quote.

The chapter is a bit bitty/clunky, and I apologise for that too, things are a bit crazy right now and smooth writing isn't happening so well. Deepest apologies.

* * *

><p><strong>Previously;<strong> Chloe knows! Oliver knows! Chloe knows that Oliver knows, but Oliver doesn't know Chloe knows! (Yeah, I deliberately made it confusing, haha). In an effort to process the new information, Chloe takes a walk into the wrong side of town. Naturally, she ends up in cliffhanger trouble.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Five; Villains<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>You were right about me all along Mr Kent. I <em>_**am**__ the villain of this story'_ – Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Onyx)

* * *

><p>"Tell me, and I may spare you." he offered, pausing the progress of the card. She wished she could see what it was, but she knew she wouldn't be able to know its effect even if she did. "Why are you here?"<p>

"I was walking, I heard an argument. Nothing more." she answered, knowing it would not sate the man.

"Walking where?"

"Just a walk." she replied as quickly as she could.

"No-one takes '_just a walk_' and, they definitely don't in this part of town." Chloe had to give it to him; he had a point.

"Smells like th' sea on' storms night. Crime all ov'r 'er." The harsh Scottish broke against her ears.

"Maybe we got off on the wrong foot then." The leader grinned. As with most criminals, when they heard she ran in the same circles as them, they presumed she'd jump at the chance to join their crew. They were wrong. "Perhaps we can make some arrangement." Chloe had been here before, she'd learnt her lesson very fast. Never make deals with criminals.

"Hacker." The Scottish came again, grumbling the word out. "Smell's all ov'r your fingers." he followed with a sniff of disgust.

"Then we _can_ come to some agreement." The leader happily spoke, Chloe's face had nothing of happiness. She was done with this life, she wasn't getting tied back down and she wasn't playing assistant to these bastards.

"I don't make deals with criminals." she hissed

"Yet you are one yourself. Does a code mean nothing?" Interest. Sick interest poured from him.

"I have a code. It doesn't involve working with the men that were willing to kill me for walking past."

"You say that like you're above it." The same satanic laugh came as before. "Murderer is just a label."

"I don't make deals with murderers." she hissed violently, tugging at her arm again, but she gained nothing more than her own pain.

"Then we have no use for you." And Chloe's eyes opened in alarm as the card between them flew towards her. She turned her head, closed her eyes. She refused to see the swirling death overcome her.

But she felt a strong gust, a sharp whip of air past her. A curse followed.

"Bastard!"

Her beating heart pounded wildly and she opened her eyes. There, in the wall before her, an arrow was fixed into the brick, its tip shot through the card of her death.

Green fletching.

Her heart flipflopped, her stomach swirled and that hope she'd spent years shutting down flooded her system. She smiled, turning 180 degrees to view behind her, the red man still locking her arm which forced her to curl into him.

But there he was. Arrow.

No… Oliver. **Oliver** had saved her.

She'd never felt happier to see him in her life.

How she'd missed him. She was relieved, free and saved.

Oliver.

She wanted to run, to kiss him, to tell him she knew and she didn't care, to feel his arms around her again. But she was tugged back by the grasp. It was probably a good thing.

"Let her go!" he ordered to her captor. It was like a dream moment, where you don't believe if you're living in reality because nothing ever turns out this good.

He was a regular hero, using regular hero lines from films of knights, dragons and damsels. As much as she hated being the damsel, she loved her saviour and hoped her story ended the way it usually did, with the valiant knight riding off into the sunset with the weary damsel.

"Yes, yes. Sorry." And the red man's grip was gone, his size shrinking, his skin turning yellow. Chloe couldn't believe it, she cradled the wrist, pained by the rush of blood that once again got to flow.

"You idiot!" the leader hollered. "Damn it! Grab him!" Yellow flashed off, red on and the man was charging down her saviour. But he was knocked off course by a dart jabbing into his bicep. Chloe followed the trajectory to find Cyborg and Canary to her left. No… Victor and Dinah, she recalled. They were people, with real lives, and real jobs… and they saved people like her.

The raged man kept running and another dart fired. Chloe turned back though, where was the other part of this killing duo? He was summoning the cards again, lifting them to swirl around him. Chloe took the distraction to curl her fists and aim straight for his unprotected head. Instead, she found herself pulled from course by his hands and slammed into the crates. But, as she stood, she was caged, four walls of cards glowed green to surround her.

Her captor gave her the toothy grin that showed his lack of soul and he turned back to Green Arrow's aimed crossbow that was sure to hit the area his heart had vacated.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you." the leader teased, no fear in his voice, no worry for his companion who laid knocked out 12 metres from him. "Little lady can be killed with no more than a flick of my hand." This froze her saviour. She wanted to yell, wanted to scream for him to shoot him and be done with it. But she said nothing. "So, how about you point that bow back at yourself and stick an arrow in your own chest." he offered. "Or she dies."

There was silence, then a female's voice followed in protest. Dinah.

"You're not seriously considering this are you?!"

"I'm not letting her die." he argued.

"And I'm not letting you commit suicide!" Chloe watched as Arrow's face turned to her. _Oliver's_ face, she corrected herself. He was thinking about it. She could see him considering this.

The man was insane!

"Then we're at an impasse." her villain purred and claimed all attention. "Perhaps you'd like to try your luck with the fates." Chloe watched through the gaps in her cage as he drew a second deck, this one glowing purple. "Pick a card. Major deck and I'll let her free and kill you on equal terms. Minor deck and she dies painfully and I kill you as you cry."

"Major and minor?" Victor asked. "Don't speak Tarot." This seemed to tick the slender man off, his grin faltering.

"Minor is pentacles, swords, sticks and cups. Major is picture cards." Dinah supplied, listing the knowledge. "There are more minor than major."

"You know this stuff?" Cyborg turned to her.

"Was a phase. Was free." she answered dismissively.

They weren't just a group of rebels, Chloe noted. They were family. Friends.

"Perhaps you would have better fortune with the fates then Miss." The psycho teased, sending the purple cards to fly around her then back to him at lightening speed.

"If that's one of your predictions, then clearly you have no talent." she laughed. "I can't pick a winning card from a table with all three face up and rewarding."

Again Chloe watched his face tick with annoyance.

"Pick a card, or she dies." he ordered but she held up a finger to pause him.

"Question." she purred. "What happens if you die?"

"You go with me pretty doll."

"You'll be gone before you have the chance." Chloe turned to Oliver's voice distorter as he spoke, aiming his bow at him again. The cards left the villain, spinning like shurikens towards Arrow.

"No!" Chloe screamed, but the cards dropped suddenly, falling from the sky like they'd lost all momentum. She whipped her head to the villain only to find him out cold, Bart crouched next to him. "Bart." Chloe whispered in awe. He turned to her with a smile as bright as she always remembered. The cards caging her dropped to the floor without their glow and she threw herself into his arms instantly.

Things had been crazy, her emotions were everywhere… and yet Bart was the one that hadn't changed for her. Hell, he'd saved her.

* * *

><p>Oliver stood from the brute he finished tying. A phonecall had already summoned the boys in blue and they needed to go. But his eyes couldn't leave Chloe. The way she held onto Bart like he'd single-handedly saved her. The way she wrapped her arms around <em>him<em>. Maybe the RL hadn't completely gone, or maybe the jealousy was stronger seeing her with someone he knew she had a past with, because he felt a rage summon within him at the thought of Bart holding her.

He felt Dinah's eyes on him, but he didn't care, he crossed the distance before Bart could do anything else and stood before the two.

"I got her." Oliver ordered. The tone clearly said to back off, and Bart grudgingly accepted it, not wanting to start a fight. Not now, not in front of Chloe.

Chloe looked up to him, her eyes soft and vulnerable. But there was something new in her eyes, something that said she understood. Had her drunken tirade filled her with guilt? "We need to be leaving." he spoke to the group, despite his eyes being on her.

"Want me to tell Boyscout?" Bart offered. With a nod, Chloe watched the other members scatter.

Oliver's gloved hand came out to her.

"We need to talk."

Chloe just nodded, accepting his hand and his lead away from the other members of the team. It was quiet, eerily so. But that was just another point of the docks, a reason why criminals loved them. They were far from people's ears and didn't have a lot of visitors.

She followed him silently, wondering what had claimed his mind. She felt a pull toward him, a want to have him pressed to her. She put it down to her rescue.

"Last nigh-" she began, prepared to apologise for her drunken words. But he cut her off.

"Not about that." he simply spoke and when he qualified their distance as appropriate he turned to face her, his hand slipping from hers to cross his arms over his chest. "I need to know about the contract." Chloe's expression dropped. Of course it was about that…

"I can't tell you. You know that." He noted the way she spoke, the way she was annoyed at repeating herself… but there was something else there too. He dare say disappointment.

"I _need_ to know." he repeated. If he was going to free her, he needed the information.

Chloe rolled her tongue over her back teeth, trying to calm the rage. No, she couldn't tell Arrow she knew he was Oliver. She knew that. He valued his divide, she wouldn't be the one to spoil that for him. Besides, he'd probably hit a rage about her telling Lex… he wouldn't understand.

"You don't." she answered simply, closing off.

"I know who you are. I need to find a way to free you from your contract with the Luthors." She knew she should pull a shocked face, but she didn't have the energy, she had no fight.

"You can't." And she turned from him. As expected, his fingers wrapped lightly around her wrist, stopping her escape.

"Chloe." Her name, in that voice distorter… it did things. Don't get her wrong, her name from Oliver did things for her… but with the distorter, she felt like her panties had just melted. It was perhaps the strangest thing to make her feel that way, but it was true.

Oliver watched her body respond to the name, saw how it ran heat through her back, how she shuddered slightly. Really? "Chloe." he spoke again and she turned back to him, his hand still on her wrist. Her eyes looked darker, looked lost.

"I told you not to look." But the berating statement was without the chastising tone. Somehow, she couldn't make it work for her. She wanted Oliver to hold her again, she wanted to feel his tender kiss. She wanted to tell him she knew he hadn't stood her up, that Lex had lied and Nexus plans had happened the night he left her. That she knew why he wasn't there. But she couldn't. "Did the plans help?" she asked instead, quickly changing the topic. It took him a second, but he caught on.

"A lot."

"Did it go well? I didn't hear back from Lex." she lied.

"It could have gone a lot worse." he answered. She couldn't see, but she'd bet behind those dark glasses, he was narrowing his eyes, wondering her line of question. Was it so absurd that she cared?

"I'm glad you're okay." And it was the truth. She looked up to him again, she felt his fingers refusing to leave his touch to her. Here he was, and there was nothing in her head other than to feel his embrace again. So she did what she wanted; she caved to her desires.

"We h-" Her steps crossed the distance, her feet pushed onto tiptoes as she came to him, her lips pressed to his. It took a second, but he responded like she was his addiction. His tongue parted her lips, dancing with hers. She kissed Oliver, she kissed Arrow, but what she felt was a medium of tender and raw. It was a vicious peace. The eye of the storm. Hot and cold. Crazy and sane.

His arms came around her, taking the weight from her weak knees and giving her the rush of comfort she wanted. Everything would be fine. She knew that when she was in his arms.

But too soon, her pulled back from the kiss.

"Chloe." She kept her eyes closed, just dropped her head to his chest. "Tell me. Please."

No. She couldn't. She'd got her last kiss, she told herself, though it ached no less. She pushed back from him.

"I can't." His hand tried to hold her to him, but she ducked under his grip. "Thanks for the save." she spoke in goodbye. And he let her walk away. He probably figured he'd catch her at her apartment and corner her. But she had no plans of going there for a while. She needed to figure out a very important question; did she tell Lex?

And if she decided not to tell him… what would become of her?

She heard his motorbike engine roar to life, she heard the noise come closer, then fade into the city again. She sighed.

One last kiss huh… and she rose her fingers to her lips. She was already craving another.

Maybe a drink would help?

It didn't last night… but that was entirely different. Right?

Chloe found herself back at the Ace of Clubs, hit with the nostalgia of her first meeting with 'Jonas' all over again. But this time, she took her drink to the balcony instead of the bar.

* * *

><p>Lex sat back in his chair, his attention on the computer screen. Arrow was back in Chloe's apartment. But where was Chloe? There was no point busting him yet, he wanted to catch Chloe red handed with him. He narrowed his eyes at the screen.<p>

"Lex." Lana called yet again, the tailor kneeling by her feet annoying her as she turned up the dress again. "Lex."

Lex lifted his eyes. "I thought you said it wasn't formal."

"I did." he agreed, leaning back to look at his women. She stood with her hair piled atop her head, one assistant adjusting the halter neck, the other re-pinning the hem of the dress to an appropriate length.

"So why am I wearing this?" Lana questioned, her disapproval evident in her features. She wasn't used to functions like this. He regretted asking her slightly. Yes, he enjoyed having her on his arm and showing her off. Yes, she was good company. But he couldn't tell her to deal with the dress, he couldn't tell her to be quiet, he couldn't order her from the room when she got annoying, he couldn't roll his eyes at her incessant questions and he couldn't wave a contract before her to get her to jump when he asked. "I'd rather wear something less… long." Lana scanned down the dress again.

"The colour suits you." he complimented, knowing he had to. It was a teal dress, flowing to her feet. Christmas was filled with social events he hated attending, it was the charity season and it was upon him as it was every year. Yes, it wasn't 'formal' per se, but neither would he have her turn up in jeans and a t-shirt.

"There's nothing wrong with the colour." she agreed with a small laugh. "I just don't think I can walk with this length." Lex contained the inner remark that Chloe would have had no problem, she wouldn't have even thought to complain.

"You look beautiful." But he saw his words were not soothing the problem. Again, he wished he could just order her to like the dress and be done with it. He stood, waving off the assistants and crossing to where she stood. "I know it's different, but you'll be fine." he spoke to her as the door closed behind the staff.

"That's easy for you to say." she laughed. "You're used to all this."

"And you will be soon too." he hoped, he didn't want this performance every time he had to go to an event with her.

"I just… I feel like an idiot." Lana turned to the full length mirror, her hands smoothing the material again.

"You look stunning and you should feel as wonderful as you look." Lana turned back to him. At least Lana heard honesty in his words, Chloe was more skilled in hearing the undertone of a lie and would call him out on it. "Once you get there, you'll see what I mean."

"Are you sure?" And with a nod, he saw her relax a little.

"I have to make a call to the office. I'll be back soon." And he left out the door, sending the assistants back in with the same instructions as before. To alter the dress to _his_ requests, not hers.

* * *

><p>Chloe's arms rested over the balcony of the Ace of Clubs. It was drawing darker, the window pulling in the night sooner than expected. Apartment blocks were lit up with tenants turning on lights, businesses were glowing and the bar scene was growing.<p>

She still had no decision thought. On one side, she desperately wanted her freedom. But… Oliver was doing good things, he was saving innocents… she couldn't hand him to Lex unknowing of his future.

Either way, one person had to be sacrificed.

The question was; her or him?

Yes, she'd been slave to the Luthors since she left high school, but did that make her more desperate for freedom, or more capable of dealing with her imposed cage? Oliver had saved numerous people, but he'd destroyed the hearts of women for years, but did that make him deserving of Lex's wrath?

She held her head to her hands.

"I heard you were back in town." Chloe lifted her head, turning to the female voice. Her lips curved up and she lifted her arms to embrace the friendly face. One of the few people who knew her real identity. Zantana; resident magician in metropolis. "You look terrible though." And Chloe felt her laugh as she released the hug.

"I heard about your dad." Chloe offered in sympathy.

"Yeah…" Zantana just replied. "I heard you've been busy." And Zantana grinned. "Queen's a lucky man to have held you."

And it was Chloe's hesitation before her smile that led Zantana to her next question. "What's bothering you?"

As much as Zantana knew about her past and present, she couldn't burden her with the truth now. She seemed to pick up on this and roll her eyes at Chloe. "Always in trouble Sullivan." Chloe's eyes went wide and she scanned the area, luckily no-one heard the name pass her lips. "Sorry." But Zantana laughed the word. "Paranoid much?"

"Not getting much sleep." Chloe spoke honestly, trying to pass off her behaviour as sleep deprivation. Zantana didn't buy it.

"Truth C, as little info as you like." Chloe sighed, humoured by the old nickname Zantana knew she disliked, and she gave her the vague details.

"Ever had to make the decision between your own suffering, or someone elses?"

"Sometimes, suffering is needed." Zantana skated past the answer, it was a sore spot, her mind on her father.

"How do I choose?" Chloe asked again.

"Can one be avoided?" Chloe shook her head. "Can it be escaped?" Again, Chloe shook her head. "Are you sure one _will_ suffer?"

"I don't know…" And Zantana grinned widely.

"I presume this relates to Lex." she spoke and Chloe gave her the facial expression to say 'when does anything not?' "Good. We'll make a deal then."

"A deal?" Chloe scoffed. "You know how I feel about magic." Zantana took no offense though.

"What about if I tell you I can give you 12 hours of a different path? 12 hours where you can do anything you like, and after that time is up, you'll come back to this point of time and nothing will have happened except the memories of a 'dream'."

"You can't be serious."

"Very."

"I'd ask what you want in trade."

"Luthor has something I want. You'll bring it to me." Zantana knew she had Chloe sold. Whatever was troubling her needed sorting and this was her way of a free pass.

"What is it?" Chloe pressed.

"You agree?"

"I agree." And Zantana smiled, speaking some words and pulling a silk bag from thin air. Chloe was always amazed no-one saw when she did things like this.

"Luthor has a crystal like this." She pulled a big glistening gem from the silk. "It has great value to me, while he keeps it as a mere paperweight." The point clearly annoyed her. "Swap the crystals, put his 'paperweight' in this bag and it will keep with you after the time resets."

Chloe knew of the article she spoke of. That wouldn't be too hard. Lex kept it on his desk.

Zantana left the club with her, told her to expect an absent feeling during the time limit, and that the twelfth hour would hurt the further she was from the spot she stood now. And then, she spoke the words and Chloe felt herself splitting apart where she stood.

The first few minutes felt like she was learning to walk again. She felt like she wasn't herself, like there was someone else driving her body. Zantana just told her she needed to be back here at 7am or she'd be pulled back and thus, it would hurt. Chloe nodded and called a taxi, heading straight to Lex.

* * *

><p>Lex sat in his parlour, alone with his brandy and finances. He didn't expect Chloe to come barging in. He certainly didn't expect the words that came out of her mouth.<p>

"I know who Green Arrow is." she said with a single breath. Lex rose an eyebrow, set the pen to the desk and stood.

"You know who Arrow is?"

"Name and address." she reiterated.

"I suppose this brings our agreement to a close. Who?"

But on this, she dithered. "Chloe. Who is it?"

"What will you do if I tell you?"

"If you've come to taunt me Chloe I have no patience for it on this subject. You will tell me now, or god help me I don't know what I will do."

"If you know him." she pressed on. "If he was someone you spoke to. Who you had spent time with. Would you want to know?"

"I don't care for your games. Tell me."

"What do you do in your labs? What will you do to him?" she pressed.

"I don't know what you mean." he lied, the serpent tongue back. Why wouldn't she just spill the damn name?!

"You do, and I know what happens, I know you take the meteor enhanced off the streets and test their abilities." Lex looked at her judgingly, but whatever he saw, he answered.

"Small tests. Nothing harming. I take away the powers if they pose a threat, if not, they keep them and will be set free with nothing more than a mild headache and a few weeks of lost memory."

"That's it? That's 33.1?"

"That's all. I'm doing the country a service Chloe. Unlike Arrow, who continued to pull apart my facilities." he grumbled. "Arrow will get the same treatment, regardless of who he is."

"But he has no powers."

"Then he will have his memory wiped and nothing more." She should have heard the lie, it was obvious. But she so desperately wanted to believe it was true, she told herself she heard truth.

"He won't be harmed?" she pressed. Lex narrowed his eyes.

"You have feelings for this man… don't you?" Her silence answered his question. "Who is it Chloe?" She didn't answer and he knew.

He sighed and lifted the phone. "Bring me a car around, I need to visit Oliver Queen."

Chloe felt herself crumble, only the knowledge she could re-do this was keeping her standing. Lex crossed the room, touched a hand to her shoulder. "You did the right thing." he praised. "We'll talk terms when I come back." And he left out of the door.

* * *

><p>12 hours later Chloe's 7am sunlight darkened significantly to 7pm darkness. Her bones cracked and she screamed in agony, feeling the pull of her body to another area. Zantana paced in the night and howls of pain came to her. Chloe was being pulled back, she hadn't made it to her in time. And when she did materialise before her, she was cradling her sides, sobbing, the blood on her hands fading away like it was never there.<p>

"Jesus Chloe." Zantana dropped to her. "Look at me, nothing happened. It's all gone back to before." Chloe looked up to her friend, her eyes had seen terror. "What happened?"

"Blood… so much blood." she whispered through the tears.

"It didn't happen." Zantana soothed. "Whatever you saw, it hasn't happened."

"And it won't." Chloe swore. "It can't." Her tears quietened, and her determination shone. Her hand went into the bag beside her and she pulled out the silk bag, putting it in Zantana's hand. Zantana lifted out the crystal, her hand warmed as she felt the magic run through it. Chloe had done well, whatever horror she saw.

"What are you going to do?" Zantana asked, her hand waving and the crystal disappearing into the night.

"Lex isn't who I thought." Chloe simply spoke.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." And the honesty of that statement scared Chloe worse than the fate she had seen.

* * *

><p>Chloe had sat alone with the memories of a time that hadn't passed. She thought Lex was a saviour when she first met him. Thought he was a knight to slay her dragon as time passed. But now… he was a dragon; like his father. As much as it pained her, Lionel was right. His son was just a younger version of him.<p>

She paced the room, trying to find her next steps in this hell hole of a life she was leading. What could she do? Turn over Lex to the police? He'd be out within minutes, and she'd be in for the rest of her life; if she didn't get the death penalty.

Tell Oliver? No, he'd either call her crazy or seek Lex's death himself.

She came to only one conclusion, she had to fix this herself. She had to see Lex. Find her way out from the deal and leave the country. She didn't care if she was still his property, as long as she didn't have to be around him. She didn't think she could look at his face again without seeing the splatter of Oliver's blood across it.

Chloe was in the car swiftly, making up her plan as she drove. Whatever happened, she had to back out of the deal for Arrow's identity. She'd tell Lex it was impossible, that she'd failed. Once Oliver was safe, she'd try and save herself.

She never thought of herself as a martyr, but for Oliver. Perhaps she could change.

She arrived to find Lex as she had before, sitting in his parlous, drinking brandy and working over his finances.

"Yes?" he spoke as she entered. Something was bugging him and she didn't have the good news slipping from her tongue to put him in the good mood as before.

"Arrow's not going well." she replied, sitting on the sofa. She heard his grumbling sigh, heard his muttered curses and let him finish whatever section he was working on before he next addressed her.

There was silence for a few minutes. A long set of 10 minutes.

"How so?" he finally asked.

"No progress. I've tried every avenue, every idea. He's covered his tracks too well."

"You walked into my office and told me you'd find his identity. And now, you're telling me you lied about that." he questioned, spinning her words to fit him.

"I'm telling you I didn't have the information to make an informed decision regarding the difficulty of the case. I was overly optimistic and knew too little."

"So you still failed me." he summed disapprovingly.

"If you want to put it that way. But I hardly blame myself for the difficulty he poses." she defended herself, trying to remain calm, and avoid Lex's anger.

"You told me you could Chloe. We made a deal."

"And now the deal is finished. We'll go back to the way we were before. I'll go back to Spain, you'll stay here and call me when you need me."

Lex stood, and crossed the room.

"Chloe. You're going to go back to your apartment, collect _everything_ you have on Arrow and bring it to me tomorrow morning." he instructed with no ounce of room for argument. "Then we're going to talk seriously about the next steps. Because you are not leaving the country until you find me who he is."

"Lex he's covered his tra-"

"Everyone makes a mistake at some point. You'll stay here until he does."

"I ha-"

"At the mansion." he added. "You'll be moved back in by the end of the week if you have no progress."

"Lex I-"

"You can leave now." he interrupted and sat back in his chair, turning to the notes.

"Lex, you can't keep me here. If anything I'd do better work in metropolis!" He ignored her, picking up his pen again as he noted something from his screen onto a paper copy. She crossed the room. "Damn it Lex. At least I know when to give in! Let me go back to Spain. You have no use for me other than Arrow. Which is entirely a lost cause!" Again… no reply from Lex, he just scrolled his mouse. She slammed her hands flat to the table he was working on. "Damn it Lex I-"

"You're forgetting I own you Chloe." he snapped, swapping his gaze to her in a way that chilled her blood. "You'll bring me everything you have tomorrow morning and we'll discuss next steps."

"Lex, I-"

"Leave." he ordered.

"Le-" His eyes snapped sharp to her.

"I told you to leave. If you speak another word you'll regret it."

Lionel was right; Lex was turning into his father. She turned, heading back to her apartment. She'd sort out the files and she'd go to Lex, presenting him with the nothingness she had accumulated on Arrow. She'd discuss next steps. Hopefully, he'd see sense and send her back. Otherwise… she could try other deals. But until the worst came she'd keep on track with him, she'd play along. Lex wouldn't hurt _her_.

Chloe expected Green leather in her apartment as she returned, she expected a flash of red maybe. But she found herself alone. Alone with the haunting images.

Lex… the things he did. The words he spoke tonight. Was she as trapped as she felt?

Chloe dropped to the bed, her thoughts on Oliver. What was he doing? Would he be out saving people tonight? She turned her head to the window in her bedroom, would he be running rooftops? Saving other women from the crime of metropolis? She sighed and turned back to her ceiling.

What was she going to do?

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>So Chloe is yet again in trouble.<p>

There will be a glimpse of the horror she saw in the next chapter, if you don't want it, skip the italics (it's not that graphic, promise).

What do you think of Lana? I can't decide what to do with her in the future of this story. Do I kill her? Do I keep her pining for Lex? Do I give her the spine to get up and leave him? It's all so complex, yet doesn't make a difference to the real ending we all care about (Ollie and Chloe), haha. So, yeah, what do you readers fancy seeing for Lana?

Hope you have a good week, see you soon.  
>Xx<p> 


	36. The Devil You Know

Happy Monday Readers, hope you are all well and warm.

Reviewers, you make my day, I cannot thank you enough.

(I know it's late, promise I didn't forget. Just had a busy day of traveling. Apologies Xx)

**Previously;** Oliver dressed as Green Arrow saved Chloe from bandits, they shared a 'moment'. With a little help from resident magician Zantana, Chloe saw the future if she was to tell Lex the truth. 12 hours later and she was fixed in the knowledge she could never tell him. Meanwhile, Lex is stepping up his plans against Arrow, trying to manage Chloe and juggling a relationship with Lana; no rest for the wicked.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Six; The Devil You Know<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>I try to deny it but I'm still my father's son'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Reaper)

* * *

><p>"<em>Oliver!" Chloe cried, clutching his broken form. He was barely alive, holding onto the last thread of life to say his goodbye's, but no, she wouldn't let him. Her tears streamed, they splashed against his cheek and with each, she wiped it away with a caress. "You're a sick bastard." she hissed up to Lex as he stood over them, not an ounce of guilt in his features. If she looked up, if she could bare to take her eyes from Oliver, she'd see Lex huff at the effort it took to take the handkerchief from the pocket of his suit to wipe Oliver's blood from his face. "Hold on. Okay. Hold on." she pleaded back to Oliver. "I promise. You'll be okay. I'll find RL, and you'll be okay."<em>

"_Ch-" he tried to speak her name, but the blood in his throat choked the words, spilling precious rubies from his lips. The noise was no comfort, breaking her apart all over again, fresh tears sliding familiar tracks down her pale cheeks._

"_No. It will all be alright. I promise." But she choked around her tears, tears for the doubt in the back of her mind for the truth of her promise._

"_Chloe. Leave him. Now." Lex's voice was bored. Like a child that had grown tired of the repeated words._

"_No!" she hissed, her eyes slashing at Lex's form. But they dropped back to Oliver, softened. "You can't leave me." Again, she pleaded, knowing the outcome. She knew he wouldn't live, she knew it was Lex's fault. And as tears kept falling, she watched a sight she had seen only once or twice before; death. It came swift, Oliver there one minute, then there was the sound of his last breath, to the last word he tried to speak, the last warmth and it all passed. Chloe felt herself crack with the sobs as the life energy slipped from his eyes. She cradled him, feeling like her own insides were being torn apart, like Oliver's wounds were her own. _

"_Chloe. Leave." Lex's voice cut through the sorrow, it sliced clean her grief and she took her hands from Oliver's form, she stood and she turned to Lex, murder in her eyes._

_"No." she spoke, it was harsh and unforgiving. "You did this." Meticulous, calculating. "You killed him." And she stepped forward. Whatever Lex saw in her, it put him on edge, it pushed his feet back a step. _

_He'd lost Chloe in his anger towards Queen. He never intended to go so far… but he'd been so smug. His father was right, he couldn't control his anger. But… part of him, it liked the way he'd finally won; he'd finally seen Oliver lose that spark. It felt… good. A relief, a calm. And yet, invigorating. It felt like the time Lex had finally beaten his father at chess, the high of the win._

_But now, as he saw the darkness in her eyes, he knew he couldn't control Chloe anymore._

_Chloe watched Lex back up, watched his hands raise before her, watched the realisation of what he had broken in her. _

_But there was no remorse in his features. _

_Her insides ached for no reason she could peace, her chest pained her as she took another step. _

"_Chloe." Lex tried again. Chloe came closer, but her energy was running from her, a heavy weight was crushing on her lungs, every step was agony, her limbs were burning. What was happening?_

_She attempted another step, but her knees gave and she dropped to the floor, coughing blood into her hands. What was this?_

_Oliver had these wounds, not her._

_She spun back, her eyes on Oliver._

_Was that… did his finger twitch?_

_With that, she felt a cold grip around her heart and it squeezed.  
><em>

Chloe was in Lex's parlour by 10am after a night of nightmares. What had happened in those 12 hours had faded to the back of her mind like it was a memory from years ago, not days. But she could remember Oliver's body under her hands, her tears crying down onto him as his blood spilled. Remember Lex's lies, the way he smiled as he watched Oliver writhe in pain. The way he'd hit harder and harder everytime Oliver spoke. He lost control.  
>Perhaps he didn't intend to go that far, but he didn't regret it.<p>

He'd had her restrained at first, but she'd freed herself easily and she'd held Oliver's body in the last moments of his life.

"Then take another approach." Lex addressed her, bringing her back to the present. He was slouching in his chair, careless. She looked up to him, trying to not see the way he'd killed Oliver as she did. Trying to shake it off with the knowledge none of it had actually happened. But it could…

She was sat cross legged on the floor, papers spread around her as she passed them one by one to Lex. He'd read them, shrug and hand them back.

"Like what?" she asked, genuine in her question. What possible approach could she use?

"Draw him to a trap again."

"He won't fall for it." She was confident. "Besides, even with Nexus he evaded it."

"Then we won't use a trap like that." he smugly replied. Did Lex know he was capable of beating a man to death? Of beating Oliver to death? He knew Oliver, he wasn't exactly friends with him, but he didn't hate him half as much as other names she knew of.

"Then what do we use?"

"You." he answered. "It's clear he finds you appealing. Get him _alone_ and drug him." Chloe sped through her brain, trying to find a reason it wouldn't work, while ignoring the whoring Lex had asked from her. "It doesn't take a genius to think Chloe." But there was something else in his voice, some dark judgement she didn't like. The bad memory flooded yet again.

"I doubt I-" but her words were interrupted by a gunshot. Both heads turned to the sound. Hearts sped to a gallop in milliseconds. Chloe rose to her feet, Lex hit the phone for his security and withdrew the gun from under the desk, taking off the safety. "Lex." Chloe turned to him for leadership. He was a monster, but whoever fired that gun could be ten times worse. At least this monster wouldn't hurt _her_.

He darted his eyes to the door, the back towards the direction of the sounds that followed.

Shouts.

Calls.

Gunshots.

More gunshots.

Someone was in the Luthor mansion, and they were dragging hell along with them. "Lex!" Chloe hissed again. Where was his cool head? Where were his orders?

Lex set his jaw, aimed the gun to the door closest to the noise, and waited. It wasn't long.

"Luthor!" a voice called. Lex clearly recognised it, and from the way his eyes widened, it clearly had him panicked.

"Behind the bookcase. Input the security code and get into the panic room."

"Lex." Chloe whispered back, but his hand was on her, walking with her as he faced the doors.

Where were the guards? Were they all dead?

Before Chloe could reach the bookcase the doors were kicked open and both turned to the noise. There he was, this man with blood splatter from his face to his scruffy work boots, a gun in his hand and pointed at Lex's chest.

"Your latest?" the man sneered, motioning with the gun to Chloe as she hid behind Lex's body.

"You're off your medication again." Lex simply spoke. His voice spoke with no fear, but it was a lie, Chloe could tell that much.

"No. Stop… Stop lying like that!"

"You need help."

"I need my daughter back!" he shouted, the gun waving towards Lex again. "Where is she?"

"Your daughter was killed in a car crash."

"No. Don't start that again. I know what I saw! I saw her taken!" he exclaimed and Chloe felt that part of her mind grow a shadow. She'd been lied to by a Luthor. She'd been told the one she loved was killed in a 'car crash'. She stepped back from Lex's body. Had he killed this man's daughter? Did he have no limits?

"Mr Luthor." Darren's voice parted the tension as he entered the room, his gun pointed on the man, blood coming from his jacket, the stiff rigid motions as he moved evidencing he had taken a bullet. "Put the gun down, or I will shoot." Chloe watched as Darren turned to the intruder. She felt a breath escape her body at the sight of Darren, she hadn't realised just how much she'd wanted him to live. He'd saved her from everything Luthor time and time again. He _was_ a white knight employed by the dark lord. He would go home to his pregnant wife at the end of the day. But that same thought put her on edge. If this went wrong… that child could grow up without a father.

Everything was hanging in the balance. Her eyes set on Darren, praying he'd made it through. Lex… well, the concern was less so.

"Not until he tells me where my daughter is!"

"He needs mental help." Lex spoke to Darren. "I can provide that for you." he offered turning back to the man.

Lex kept prattling on, but Chloe's eyes were on Darren, watching with fear as he moved behind the target, ready to jump him while Lex kept his attention. He was just doing his job, but Chloe felt the fear ride up over her back, she could feel something wrong. It was almost in the air, ripping apart her hope. Why? Why had Darren chosen this job?! He had a child now!

"STOP SAYING THAT!" the man screamed to Lex.

Then everything seemed to happen at once. Something, God knows what, alerted the man to Darren's presence behind him and he turned, pulling the trigger yet another time.

Chloe heard a scream; it was her own.

Darren's body was pushed backwards, dropping to the floor.

All the energy in her body pushed to her feet. Darren had to be saved. He was a good man, good men didn't deserve this. His baby didn't deserve this. His wife didn't deserve this. She pushed herself across the room, another gunshot sounding , this time it slammed into the intruder and put him to the floor.

Chloe had some sense in her mind, some sense to crash her hands over the bullet wound in Darren's chest, kicking the weapon from the intruder with her foot also.

He was dying, the amount of blood spilling around her hands was proof of that. Her eyes watered, crying for another dying man in her arms. But her mind had snapped, it wasn't Darren beneath her, it was Oliver all over again. Tears fled her eyes, they streamed down her cheeks and they dropped red hot onto any surface beneath them.

"Tell… Viv... l-love her." Darren choked out and Chloe was gone, tears streaming in cascades down her face. She cried for his wife, for his baby, for the goodbye Oliver had never spoken to her as he lied in the same position.

She lifted her head, Lex calmly setting the phone down, she prayed it was the ambulance and not some boring work call like his emotions seemed to say. She pushed her hands harder over the wound again, feeling lightheaded as she watched Lex cross and pick up the weapon from the floor, looking at the intruder that was definitely dead.

Her tears rained down, her sobs raked her lungs and yet there was the same pull as she'd felt in her twelve hours of hell. Everything ached, everything pained. Her mind was breaking with reality, because as she looked down again, there was Oliver. But instead of coughing blood, this time she felt an almighty sting in her chest, she felt a rush of breath and then… darkness.

* * *

><p>Lex shook hands with the event organiser mechanically, remembering to introduce Lana with a forced effort. Everything was easier with Chloe.<p>

He was still awaiting a call from his research team working her over. He'd watched Chloe take bullet wounds she'd never sustained. He watched Darren sit up and walk away, not a scratch on him. Clearly it was a meteor infection. He had always wondered if Chloe had been blessed with one during her time in Smallville, thought she never let him test. Now though, her blood was spinning in his lab, tested for everything under the sun, compared against every known 'ability'. He'd find out everything. Until then, she was lying dead in his lab, scientist's told him it wasn't permanent, at some point she'd wake.

So, he'd told Darren he'd been given RL to patch up his wounds, gave him paid leave up until after the baby was born and taken all the security tapes for himself. The mansion had been cleaned and redecorated, the security had been replaced, both those dead, and those on duty but alive who had let this happen. As for Chloe, the story was that she'd caught a ricochet and was in his private hospital recovering.

It was four days now, and she was still technically dead, but his scientists kept bringing back reports of her blood cultures, marvelling at the increasing production of white blood cells that kept on going despite her 'death'. He took their word for it and left them to work.

But now, he was showing the world his perfect life, with a perfect woman on his arm. Well, as perfect as a woman without a contract of obedience could be. She was beautiful though, and the cameras had loved her as she curled into him.

"Lex." There she was purring into his ear again. "Please tell me this livens up a bit." She laughed to follow and it was a musical sound he found he enjoyed a lot.

"I wish I could. But I'm sworn not to lie." And he flashed her a rare smile that had her own lips curl upwards.

"At least you were right about the dress." she continued, turning further into his half hearted embrace. "I think my little black dress would have been sourly out of place here." she admitted with a laugh.

"You look beautiful."

"Thank you." And she had the innocence to blush. "But you owe me."

"Do I now?"

"I know why I'm really here Lex." He doubted it, but smirked.

"You do?" And he took a sip of the champagne.

"You just want to show me off." she laughed.

"Can you blame me?" he played along. Like he said, he truly doubted she'd know the real reason. Unlike Chloe. At least Chloe knew she was here for the eyes of investors and business men. Chloe knew her role was to facilitate his business and stop him from being bored; she didn't expect more. Lana was wonderful, but she didn't have any challenge to her. Was his father right? Was there something in him that admired Chloe for more than just her usefulness? No. Of course not.

"Like I said, you owe me." Lana laughed again, bringing him to the present with her smile. "But, I have a few ideas of how you came make it up to me."

"You do?" he repeated with a smirk. It was rare Lana played blue, but when she did, there was a mischievous twinkle in her eye like right now. One that made his groin tighten. Of course he felt nothing for Chloe, she never stirred him like this minx did.

"Oh yes." she repeated and snaked her hands up his shirt. "In fact, I think you should pay up tonight." she continued. Lex smirked again, she was definitely something he could learn to love. She played on his senses well. He could admire a woman who knew ways to play her man.

"Should I?" he questioned again, roughly tugging her to him with his arm. "Only if you're a good girl." And with a swift kiss he sealed an unspoken deal with the woman in his arms.

* * *

><p>"Four days." Oliver complained, his eyes on Lex as he stood aside the room, his hands on a woman that wasn't his usual date; definitely not Chloe.<p>

"She'll be on an assignment for him." Dinah offered, trying not to fidget with her dress. She hated it; it covered far too much skin to be something she would usually wear. But, Oliver needed an escort and she had the burden of being the prettiest in a dress.

"Something's wrong." Oliver insisted instead, his eyes still on the other couple.

Dinah rolled her eyes, the only reason he'd wanted to go was to find Chloe on Lex's arm. The only reason Dinah was here was because the press would go nuts about Oliver being back on the market if he turned up solo.

"Her name's Lana Lang, if that helps." Dinah offered, having read an article in the gossip column about the target of his gaze. To this, Oliver turned back to his 'date'.

"What do you know of her?"

Dinah shrugged lightly.

"All gossip. But she's Lex's new squeeze. Has been for the past few weeks apparently."

"And?"

"And what? What more do you want?"

"Is she there by choice?" Oliver prompted, but he knew the answer the second he saw the couple. This 'Lana' had the love bug, not the 'here because of a contract' infection.

"You have a one track mind. And she's not here tonight anyway. So relax, and stop looking for devil horns." Dinah chastised.

"She's not at the apartment, she's not at the mansion." he hissed quietly. "Where is she?"

"Overseas?" Dinah suggested on a guess, ignoring the inner stalker in Oliver. "Lex is doing work with some robotics company, original owners were Japanese. He might have sent her for research."

"I checked his flight logs." Oliver admitted, shuffling his feet nervously as he scanned the room again.

"There are _limits_ to legality you know." she joked. "Besides, you said she has a criminal record… maybe she can't fly legally. Lex would have put her on a boat or something."

"Or… something's wrong." He'd been at this conclusion for a while and nothing was budging him.

"Okay, hypothetically, if something was wrong, what would be the next steps?" Dinah asked, temporarily buying into his theory. He wouldn't shut up unless she did.

"Scout the mansion again. Locked rooms. Unearthed soil."

"You think he's buried her in the backyard?!" she whispered heavily, whacking a hand to his arm for the thought.

"Other facilities." he continued, meeting her eyes with a serious need for answers burning in them.

"She's not meteor infected."

"It's not stopped him before." he highlighted. It was rare, but true, most people they freed were meteor inclined, but there were one or two scientists that learned the truth behind his research and didn't have the dark soul required to work for Lex.

"Alright. What else?" she prompted.

"His office, his other properties."

"Okay. Well, we're on top of facilities at the moment, the only one we have left is still his primary base," she smoothed a hand across her hair, checking it hadn't fallen from the artful twist that had taken her far too long to get right. But she met Oliver's eyes and saw determination that wasn't healthy. "Which we have no idea where it is." she added, though it calmed him none. "Impulse will run every property we find… he's probably as nuts as you are about this." she muttered under her breath. "And boyscout will x-ray the world if you ask nicely." she finished. But the attempt to soothe the worry seemed to backfire.

"We need to go through records again. We need to find that primary base."

"We've been looking since we first started this mission Oliver." she hissed through clenched teeth. "She won't be there anyway, she's Lex's pet, not his lab rat."

"It's a thin line for him." he seethed angrily, but she couldn't say to the contrary.

"Alright, fine. Make your greetings, drop a donation and we'll go." she agreed, already bored with the event. There was nothing here for her. She turned from Oliver, only to bump into another patron. "Sorry." she answered on reflex then her gaze rolled up to his face. Boy, can you say handsome?

"That's alright." And wow… what a voice. Dinah felt his hands rest on her shoulder, steadying her though it was hardly necessary. "My fault entirely."

"Relax Bruce, she's clumsy at best." Dinah turned back to Oliver's voice filled with the business tone. "Dinah, Bruce Wayne. Corporate head of Wayne Enterprises" he introduced, giving the man a firm shake, a shake that said old friends, not just business rivals.

"Don't get me wrong, it's nice to see you outside business hours Oliver. But I'd rather spend time stealing your date." Bruce turned to Dinah with a grin that made her feel naked all of a sudden, well maybe it was a gaze that made her _wish_ she was naked… and straddling him.

"Friend. Not date." Dinah corrected, blinking away the fantasy and answering before Oliver could divert the situation. "And you're more than welcome to steal me." Dinah met Oliver's challenging eyes, but he dropped them in no less than a second for an eye roll.

"It would be my pleasure." Bruce spoke after watching the exchange and lifted her extended hand to his lips instead of the shake she'd clearly been expecting. That blush… it was something beautiful.

* * *

><p>Lex lay across the sheets, naked and comfortable as Lana rested across his chest.<p>

"That was…" she began, taking a breath. "Worth it." she finished with a laugh.

"I'm glad you thought so." he chuckled.

"You are aware, this will be the price for every night like tonight you insist upon taking me out to." She rolled and propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. He rose an eyebrow with humour.

"Is that so?" and with a smirk, he ran a hand down the curve of her spine. She was so delicate, so beautiful. "I think that's an acceptable agreement."

"I'm not finished yet." she laughed. "I only said this was payment for the night. If you want me to wear a dress like that again, it'll be extra." Lex chuckled.

"I'm willing to pay. Name your price."

"There's heels too." she warned. "They'll cost extra."

"Worth every penny." he voiced, recalling the way she'd dropped the dress, only clad in the thong and heels as she crossed to him on the bed. Beautiful.

"As I recall." she laughed. That twinkling sound again.

"Name your price." he repeated, pushing her long black hair back from her eyes again.

"I'm thinking. I'm thinking." she insisted. "What about if…" she started, thinking as she spoke. Lex's mobile started a vibration from its place on the nightstand. Lana's eyes flashed to it with Lex's. He reached across, viewing the caller before sitting up and answering it.

"_Mr Luthor, she's awake."_

"I'll be there in 10 minutes." And he ended the call.

"You have to go?" Lana voice, sitting up on the bed, her eyes curious.

"Work." And he stood.

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and turned back to her, lifting her chin with one hand and laying a quick kiss to her lips before stepping back again.

"You can stay here if you like. I'll be back soon."

* * *

><p>The clinical corridors were much like a hospital, except these rooms held captives rather than patients. But Chloe, she was a floor below. And she was not a happy bunny. He could tell by the noises through the soundproof doors as he neared. The woman had a set of pipes, he gave her that.<p>

He stopped by the morgue, three petrified crooked scientists stood outside, peering through the window. Robert, the lead scientist was stood behind them, leaning on the wall, only standing straight as Lex neared and he knew he'd have to inform him of her progress.

"Meteor infected." he began as Lex was in earshot. The other junior scientists saw Lex then scattered back to stations. "Best we can compare to is the swap healer. B block, 188." he identified. Lex remembered, the freak could touch one person with an injury, touch another and pass on the injury, healing the first and mutilating the second. The power of life and death actually in his hands. "She takes it on herself though, but otherwise, little variation on the genetic patterns."

"How long has she been up?" Lex asked.

"Long enough to terrify whoever's in there with her. Shouting started 10-20 minutes ago, she won't let him leave until she gets answers."

"What has he told her?"

"Nothing. He wasn't even told of her case, he's working A block."

"Good. Make sure this doesn't become gossip." Lex instructed and neared the door. "Clear the halls for exit as well." Lex added as an afterthought and opened the door with his palm scanned on the lock.

Chloe put herself to the best offensive position as she heard the door open, the scalpel in her hand pointed to the useless worker that she'd taken hostage for answers, but instead of back-up, it was Lex stepping into the room. She was torn between anger and relief at the sight of him.

"What the hell happened?!" she hissed to him instantly as he entered. She was wrapped in nothing more than the white sheet that had been covering her 'dead' body.

"Let him go. He knows nothing." Lex ordered.

"You'll answer my questions." she insisted and with his nod she lowered her weapon back to the medical table next to her and watched the scientist scarper quickly. Her eyes flickered back to Lex quickly as the door shut behind the escapee. "What the hell happened to me?" she questioned quickly. "I wake up with a fucking toe-tag and these white coats-" her arm flew out towards the door, indicating her description. "Tell me I died!" She wheeled back to Lex, hungry for answers he promised. But she met his stoic gaze, his expressionless attitude and another conclusion drew before he could answer. "What did you do to me?!" she regretted dropping the weapon, but charged a finger up to poke at his chest, the sheet tucked back on itself under her arms and barely holding itself up with her rapid movements. But Lex looked at her like she was a miracle. Was it fascination at her feat? Or fascination at his success?

She chose to accuse first, and give him a chance to explain later. "You did this!" she jabbed the fingers again, pissed by the way he stood with his hands in his pockets still. "You gave me something, or you used me as an experiment!" But her temper needed to flow, it needed action and reaction. Clearly Lex knew this as his stable stance did nothing for her needs and she started to pace instead, running her fingers through her hair.

"You're meteor infected Chloe." he announced, his voice calm.

"No!" she disagreed. She paced more steps in his silence. "I'm not." she added another dismissal. "You did this! I know you did!" she turned again to accuse. Lex lifted his hands from his pockets.

"I've seen your blood work. It's tested against other meteor infected to share the same strands of infected DNA."

"No, you did that!" she hissed, her pacing stopped, the possibility of his words being truth echoed in her. In all her time in Smallville, it had always been a thought. A fear really. What if she was also infected on the day of the meteor shower? What if her exposure to meteor rocks over the years (and she had a _lot_ of exposure) had changed her? She was always terrified if Lex ran her blood he would find something… and now… what if he had? What if he was telling the truth?

"As powerful as you imagine me to be. I cannot put meteor powers into those without."

"But… I'm not." But her voice wavered, the truth of the situation was hitting her, reshaping her anger to devastation. She was ruined… she was a freak…

"You are Chloe." he confirmed.

"…I can't be… I just can't." and she dropped to the floor, no belief in the words that left her. Her arms came around her knees, hugging them.

Lex crouched to her level, prepared for tears, but pleasantly surprised to see none.

"We'll run some tests Chloe. Figure out what's going on." he spoke and she nodded. She didn't want to be a freak. She wanted to be normal. She'd spent all of high school being a freak because of her interest in these people… and then she'd been a stupid freak that belonged to the Luthors since then. When did she get her chance to be normal? Was she doomed to be a freak for the rest of her life?

But… Oliver… Dinah, Victor… Bart… did that make her one of them? What was so bad about that? "We'll handle this together." And she nodded to Lex's words, her mind on other things. "I think it might be best if you come back to the mansion tonight." he continued and again, the numb nod came. Perhaps it didn't make her a freak… maybe it just made her different… special…

Her mind went to the charity event Oliver had taken her to. He supported the meteor infected, he'd said so. And the speaker… she was all for the movement to prevent the label of a freak. Chloe had been all for her words as well… but now she was one herself, she didn't feel quite so warmly towards the world.

She came back as Lex stood, holding out a hand to her. "I'll send someone to get your stuff."

And she snapped back to her old self. Move into the mansion again. No, she needed to end this. To get away. Now more than ever! Lex running tests meant only one thing. A lab in the middle of no-where, no escape. She accepted his hand up, but her eyes narrowed. Would Lex put her into 33.1? Her? She was his pet… right? He wouldn't do that. But the darkness that crossed his eyes made her doubt.

"No… I'll go. I've got some stuff hidden places." she spoke smoothly.

"I'll have someone drop you off tonight." And she nodded again, an action that seemed oddly comforting.

Lex opened the door for her, her hands wrapped around the sheet that threatened to loosen at any point.

"Wait. Darren?" she implored an answer and he gave, with a smile.

"At home with his wife. Perfectly fine." This news gave her a comfort she never would have imagined to find. She stepped out of the door, Lex quickly behind.

Her eyes met the curiosity of the white coats they passed, but they scattered as they saw Lex.

Lex walked behind, watching the sheet slip lower on her back, but it rested to show something he hadn't expected. The mark of his father was gone from her. The long interlocking scars covering her back were no longer pink lines of memory. No, she had nothing there but creamy skin. Had she healed wounds that old? Just what cocktail was in Chloe's DNA? And how did he use it?

* * *

><p>The car ride was a mystery to her, the windows were blacked out on both sides, so she had no idea of location or route. Only that 15 minutes of bumpy road later they pulled onto the gravel of Luthor territory and the car slowed. Lex escorted her to her room, told her to take her time and leave whenever she liked; her car was still in the drive way.<p>

But as Chloe scoured herself raw in the shower she started to think of her next steps. She had to escape Lex entirely now. No point in making a deal, no point in lying. She needed to flee. Oliver would be safe, and she'd be long gone so he couldn't trap her in one of his labs. She'd seen those, she knew of the torment that went on there. No, she wouldn't do that.

But, she couldn't just flee, she needed to ensure no-one would follow. Lex… well, with Lex, she'd have to delete all records all over again. She'd done it before to escape Lionel. If it wasn't for money, she was sure she'd still be missing from him. But… the problem with hiding out was that you needed money. Maybe she could take from Lex… No, he'd hire someone to track her. But… she knew another billionaire.

And she knew a way to 'pay' him back.

As she redressed, she found the true extent of her healing. There, before the mirror she turned backwards and forwards in nothing more than underwear and jeans. Her back, it was healed. It was clear. It was a miracle. Lex had tried everything in his arsenal to heal those scars, but now, she stood without a mark on her. The little white scabs of where she'd scratched her childhood chicken spots were gone. Not a single scar remained. Not even the bite on her leg after tormenting the neighbour's dog at 6 years old was still there. She was a blank canvas. She smiled to herself and hunted through the wardrobe in the room, there was very little she needed to take with her. Just some money she had stuffed in some socks.

She finished dressing, and took herself as silently as possible down the north corridor of the top floor. Lex had a computer up here, he never used it, but Chloe had it synced with all the others anyway. She input his password, then input her master password for the sync and took a 128GB flashdrive from her bra. She usually kept it in the back of the closet for when she had to move masses of files or images, but it would hold all of Lex's computer, virus free. She started swiftly, downloading all the content, bypassing the security measures with the master password. The more that transferred, the more nervous she got. If Lex knew what she was doing, he'd shoot her on the spot. Actually, if she recalled properly, she'd told him this computer had been destroyed… well, he should know his own home better.

She bit at her nails, making a mental plan for her immediate future. She'd drop the flash drive to Arrow, well, to Oliver dressed as Arrow. She'd make him believe she was free, she'd tell him what he wanted about the contract and then she'd pack a bag and start her run. Well, she'd have to chip a little corner from the Queen bank accounts first. Nothing he'd notice… for a few hours. And by then, it would be untraceable. She'd have to wipe everything clear, and that would take a few days to complete, so she'd have to be far away before that happened. Maybe Mexico… or was that too predictable.

Spain was a definite no. Lex knew she had contacts, knew she felt comfortable there. No, she'd have to avoid Spain. Germany he'd guess at too, since she knew enough of the language to get by. She'd have to go entirely out of her comfort range. A country she didn't speak the language of, a country she would hate and loathe. Somewhere Lex would never think to look for her.

Poland came to mind. It was cold, and she had no skills in the language. Lex would never think she was there.  
>So, yes, Poland it was. She'd find herself a small town, someone where neighbours say hello and don't ask about your past. Somewhere remote.<p>

Maybe change her hair. Cut it… yes. Dye it if she had to. Or, a wig always worked.

Her eyes went back to the screen and she returned her fingernails to her mouth, a few more seconds. Thank god for high speed downloads.

She transferred the network entirely, copying everything from online and offline folders and secured it all on the flashdrive. She settled the warm object back in her bra as it finished. The computer went off and she descended the stairs quickly, throwing herself into her car and lifting the mobile as she started out of the drive.

Green Arrow answered on the second ring.

"Five days of nothing and now you call me?" It sounded like a reprimand. "Where've you been?" Concern.

"You still want to know about the contract?" she began instead.

"Of course."

"Queen's park, half an hour, near the statue." And she cut the line. She sped back to Gold Tower, only to collect a coat, then she was gone, the flashdrive now in her pocket, wrapped in her hand as she paced the statue of a mounted rifleman.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>Review if you get the urge, I'll love you either way though ;)<p>

Have a good week, and remember '_It could be worse_' :D  
>Xx<p> 


	37. Changing Hands

Awww, you guys *blushes* you're so sweet. I have the best reviewers EVER!

You're all so amazing, and the reviews have been fantastic! I hope you all have a wonderful xmas this wednesday! **MERRY CHRISTMAS** everyone, hope you have a fabby day with family and friends.

Until then, I hope this picks up your Monday. I'm currently wrapped up on the sofa in front of the fireplace, without a voice (illness sucks) and with plenty of DVD's, so don't you worry about me; I'm happy (even if I am silent).

Happy Monday! Much love for ALL my readers.  
>Xx<p>

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><p><strong>Previously; <strong>After a nightmare about how Lex killed Oliver, Chloe is back at the mansion. This time, in the midst of plotting against Arrow, a mad gunman comes in, shooting half the staff in an attempt to avenge his daughter. Darren gets shot and Chloe finds a new hidden talent emerge when she saves his life. While Chloe's 'dead', Lex spends some quality annoying time with Lana (shame all women don't come with contracts for obedience, huh?), Oliver finds himself missing Chloe and Dinah meets Bruce (I like Dinah and Bruce together... don't quite know why...). It all ended with Chloe realising Lex's interests were getting dangerous, so with a flashdrive of all his secrets in hand, she arranges to meet Arrow.

*Dramatic music*

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><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Seven; Changing Hands<span>

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><p>'<em>Oh, there are lots of sex, lies and videotapes in Lex's vault. Problem is; he sleeps with the key under the pillow.'- <em>Chloe Sullivan (Season Five, Episode Solitude)

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><p>It was cold. Winter was closing in for sure and Chloe felt herself wrap the coat even tighter, cursing the lack of thought for a scarf or gloves before rushing out. She knew where her scarf was as well, sitting over the arm of the sofa, mocking her inside her mind. Chloe paced, more for warmth than nerves. But the nerves played the circuit too.<p>

She had to run, and she couldn't have Arrow follow.

The moonlight illuminated that which the streetlights missed, the trees cast shadows of dark figurines but she still was amiss Arrow.

Where was he?

She tugged her hand from the pocket making a speedy time check to the mobile then shoving it back into the warmth. She was early, a little eager to get lost perhaps, but the flashdrive in her pocket felt like a beacon for criminals. If anyone got their hands on it, they'd have a hell of a lot of power.

A dog walker passed her, her eyes followed him. Tonight would be the worst night to get mugged, and with that thought it made the flashdrive feel a million times heavier. Chloe wrapped her fingers tighter around it, watching the only other patron of the park walk into the distance, the small yappy dog silent on his heels. Not the dog she would have thought he'd chose for himself though, maybe he was walking the girlfriend's pooch while she slept. Good man.

Chloe smiled, loosening her fingers as he completely disappeared from sight.

"Eager aren't you?"

Chloe's back shot ramrod straight at the voice. Her fingers squeezed the drive in her pocket and she whirled around to find herself in the personal space of Arrow. No… Oliver. How had she not heard him approach?

Panicked, she scanned the area quickly, there was no-one else. At least she hadn't been ambushed.

"I could say the same." she replied and stepped back, feeling her palms sweat under what she could only presume was an intense gaze. Even in the moonlight, with shadows across his features, he didn't look menacing. He looked… well, he looked like a saviour. And that broke her heart a little more, how much she wanted to stay… how much she wanted the future he'd laid out before her. But, it was impossible. She couldn't stay without him losing his identity and becoming Lex's plaything. And, if he came with her… it just couldn't happen. So, they had to part.

"Want to tell me where you've been for the last week?" he asked, he seemed annoyed. She'd bet she had it worse; she'd been dead for god's sake.

"I'm leaving." she spoke instead, choosing the safer direction of conversation. "I found a way out of the contract and Lex has agreed." she continued, watching his reactions the best she could in the little light. He seemed angry… possibly confused. But, didn't he want this for her anyway? Then it clicked, he didn't want her to leave either. She smiled to cover the same need, to hide the want to stay with him. "It's true." she breathed, her hands turning the flashdrive in her pocket, checking it was still there. "I told him I couldn't finish the mystery of the Green Arrow."

"Bet that went down well." The anger in his voice remained. It cut her further, but she knew she had to carry on. For him. For her.

"As well as could be expected." she agreed, shuffling on her feet to try and find some warmth again. She had no idea how Oliver was warm, he was barely wearing anything. He didn't even have goosebumps.

"How'd you get out?"

"I offered him my little black book." She laughed at the name, though it was without spirit. "All my contacts, all my dirty names, all the people who owe me favours."

"That's it?" he questioned, the anger looking like it was staying for a while.

"There are important people in that book. People who could bring down city hall with a phone call. People who could spill secrets and put others in jail for life." she continued. "It's not something I'd give lightly."

"Then why?" She understood he wanted her to stay, but to stay locked to Lex?!

"Freedom." she argued, her own anger fueled by his. "Do I not deserve a life?!" she hissed, though the entire argument was based on a lie. Lex wouldn't ever let her go, not even for all her contacts and their secrets.

"Of course you do, but taking everyone else down with you?!" he barely kept control to stop shouting the remark.

"Either way. It's done." she shrugged off, annoyed with Oliver now. He could never understand, and yet she'd thought he would be the only one to. How wrong was she… "Look, this should help." And she took the hand from her pocket into the night air. "I came to give you this." And she uncurled the fingers to a small black drive. Arrow made no movements to take it.

"No. You came to tell me about the contract." he corrected.

"What does it matter, I'm free now anyway. Just take the damn drive." She pushed it forward to him, but he stepped back.

"Tell me first."

She sighed heavily, grumbled under her breath a curse word or two and then shoved the hand back into the pocket.

"Fine. You wanna know. You can know." What difference would it make anyway? She was running as soon as she was finished with him. "I used to live in Smallville." she began. "Family, school, friends. The usual teenage fun." She was bitter was she spoke, resentful of his question almost. "I wanted to work for the daily planet and made a hobby out of snooping where I didn't belong. I stumbled around the wrong place and ended up with some… I don't know, this 24 hours thing… but people couldn't lie to me. It was physically impossible." To this, he rose an eyebrow. "Naturally, I go straight to Lionel, and end up with his dirty confessions on tape." She rolled her eyes at the memory, she thought she was so clever at the time, when really, it was the worst mistake of her life.

"Then what?" he prompted, hearing her pause in the tale. Her eyes narrowed to him, but she continued.

"What do you think?" she challenged, rocking back on her heels. "Lionel came, gun in hand."

"_You understand I have very few options laid out before me Miss Sullivan." Lionel spoke, having her backed into the farmhouse wall. She'd told him she had extra copies of the file, she hoped to hell he bought it._

"_Killing me won't fix anything." Chloe felt the fear wrap around her heart at his mere presence. He looked like he had no care towards her future or his actions. Heartless. And with the truth serum flowing from her words, she knew he had no objections to putting a bullet in her._

"_Maybe not. But you could always be trying to bluff your way out." he guessed, his free hand stroking his chin as he thought._

"_You can always try it." she spat, and he was sadistic enough to grin at her response. Strong women didn't cave and cry, Lionel could admire strong women. Strong women had a fight to them, they put their own lives above the dark deeds they would do. Survival of the fittest, and this little miss certainly liked to fight._

"_I have another idea." Lionel finally spoke. "We'll make a deal." he proposed, shocking Chloe. "You'll bring me the evidence. All of it. And you'll submit yourself under my employment." Chloe couldn't believe the words she heard. He wanted what? "In exchange, I won't pull this trigger and call your bluff." Truth rang in his words, the cocktail still swimming in her blood. Lionel would let her live._

"…_You want to __**hire**__ me?" Maybe the fear had destroyed her hearing._

"_You have skills. Potential. Fight." The words were intended as compliments. "I need an assistant and somewhere I can keep an eye on you. It solves my problem."_

"_I'll never work for a murderer." she hissed._

"_Then I suppose you'll have to rely on those extra files you have." Lionel raised the gun again, giving her the time to change her mind in those few slow seconds._

"_Fine. Yes." she agreed._

"_What was that Miss Sullivan?" His free hand cupped his ear though he heard perfectly well._

"_I'll give you the evidence and work for you." Chloe watched the gun lower a few centimetres, her hands sweating, her pulse pounding, her head throwing everything at her at once._

"_I don't want a reluctant employee." Lionel stated._

"_Please." People do a lot of different things when face to face with death. Chloe did what she needed to survive, even if that meant cowering and submitting._

"_You understand this contract is binding and there will be consequences for incompetence."_

"_Yes." she breathed, wishing only to be free again, to not feel the rush of blood pushing adrenaline around her body. To not worry about when he would shoot her._

"_Good. Come with me Miss Sullivan."_

"He made me his soldier, and I'd signed for it. The contract made me property of Lionel. He owned me, in all sense. Like a table or TV. Just property." She kicked the gravel under her shoes, she hated it more than she could say. "He made me the perfect assistant, for all deals, legal and not. He sent me to schools across the world, taught me like his own little plaything and I couldn't do a thing to complain."

"You didn't know?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." she snapped violently. "With a gun to my head and knowing Lionel had no qualms about killing me, I signed rather fast instead of reading the pages of documentation. My mistake." she scoffed and turned. "Look, whatever, it's done. Just take this." She yanked out her hand and thrust the flashdrive at him.

He refused to take it, looking at her like she was playing another trick. "Oh my god!" she hissed. "It's Lex's computer. Everything." she explained annoyed with his reluctance. She was handing him the holy grail of everything he wanted and he was standing there like it was just another day at the office. "No passwords, no virus. Everything is there, all clean and I'm handing it to you." She pushed again, shoving against his chest with the drive. He took a breath, steadied his feet and lifted a hand to accept it.

Chloe felt a weight lift from her as the drive changed hands. Time to run.

"How did Lex get you?" She froze at the question, not expecting it. She expected a question about the files maybe, but… Lex?

"Why do you care?"

"How?" he repeated, unsatisfied. She huffed, rolled her eyes, but answered.

"Lionel found out he was dying of liver cancer. He took every drug under the sun and it did nothing for him. Incurable." she summed. "He knew his death would free me from the contract and the sick bastard couldn't stand the thought of me being happy ever again. So, he opened up a little window for his son. Lex dove for it, and I was passed along like property." She scoffed. "He thought he'd finally outsmarted his father. Until Daddy dearest came clear with his plan. Lex had lost thousands buying into the sinking ship where my contract was buried, and now he'd lost to his father in their eternal chess game. He told me to get lost and that he'd find me when he needed me."

"What did you do?" he pushed. She had no clue for his interest, but answered.

"Travelled. Watched my cousin go to work and come home. I was going to tell her what happened… but she was happy, I didn't want to dump that on her. Besides, Lionel was still alive, if there was a chance he could own me again, he could kill anyone I told. So I kept shut and went travelling." she admitted honestly. "I couldn't get work; Lionel had made sure I would be entirely reliant on him. So I was left with criminals and dirty jobs. Things got bad, so when Lex called; I came running. He wasn't anywhere as bad as his father." Those months meant a lot to her, it was where she met her friends in the slums of Metropolis, where she'd met Alfie. It was where she'd grown to accept her life as it was; tethered to the Luthor line.

"Doesn't make him a good man." Yes, Chloe knew that…

"I have my freedom now."

"Where will you go?" The anger had gone, hurt had replaced it in those few words. She nearly cracked herself.

"I don't know." she answered, the truth in the statement ringing clear.

"Stay." he tried. But her mind was made up, she knew what she had to do.

"I won't stay here." She stepped back. "That drive. It's got everything you need to lock up the Luthors. For life." She brushed back her hair. "But… it's not free from implications towards me. I want you to use it. But… I need to be long gone."

"The Luthors will get what's coming towards them. Without this." he swore.

"Perhaps. But how many lives will they take in the mean time?" she challenged softly. "Use it. I'll be safe." she promised.

"What about Queen?" he asked and she couldn't hide the smile at the secret she knew. Queen… you mean 'you'…

"Believe in destiny Arrow?" she asked with a grin.

"In parts."

"Then I'll leave Queen down to the fates." And she turned back to the streets. He called for her, she heard her name slip from those lips again and she felt the same rush. But she needed to leave, not get lost in that 'one last kiss' that would never end if she gave into it.

She kept walking, the weight lifting higher and higher from her shoulders. Freedom.

Almost. She'd be running from the law, running from the Luthors and running from the truth. But in her own rights; she'd be free.

So she kept walking, walking back to the apartment, where she'd get ready to run.

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><p>It was dark when she arrived, dark when she was ready to leave. It didn't take her much time at all, she knew what little she would need. She'd hit the remote to turn off the cameras the instant she hit the lobby on the way in, the later Lex found out, the better head start she had.<p>

Her first room was the bedroom, unpacking the drawers and wardrobe onto the bed and shoving what clothes she wanted and could use into one of two duffel bags she kept for travel like this. But as her hand flew back into the wardrobe she caught her finger on something sharp. She yanked the hand back from the offending object to find it had nicked the skin. A quick curse and she slipped the digit into her mouth, her free hand carefully rummaging for the cause.

And there it was, a forgotten memory in the back of the closet. Things had gotten so crazy she'd lost track of it, but there they lay, Arrow's arrows. She'd hidden them on instinct, and then… well, everything sort of went crazy with Lionel visiting, and then Oliver 'missing' their fourth date, she hadn't even thought of them. They were of little use now though, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to personally hand her arrows with his fingerprints on. She shook her head at her own stupidity yet again and lifted to throw them out. But she paused as her fingers wrapped around the shafts. They were the only things she had left of him. She knew they were nothing but a memory now, but she found the idea of throwing them out wrong. Maybe she could keep them; a memento for the long ride out of hell. She knew logically she should leave them, she was only taking what she would _need_ and these didn't fit that bill, but somewhere in her mind, she thought she'd fall apart without them. She smiled, swaddling the arrows in a towel and laying them like a secret beneath the clothes and money.

With what clothing she deemed appropriate packed, she raided the bathroom, again, just for necessities. Then came the money. She'd learned to stash a long time again, old habits and the like, so she turned the room upside down, taking out the wads of cash from her hiding places and split between the bags.  
>Besides clothes, hygiene and money, there was only her laptop that remained. Her laptop had been with her across the globe before, and this was turning out to be a repeat trip. She smiled at the familiar object, packing it into the carry case and then turned to the bags before her. Everything going with her was in the kitchen, where she stood.<p>

This was it, she was breaking out. Breaking free and breaking away from Lex's reach. But, it also felt like she was breaking her own heart. She sighed, she had to do this, she knew she did. She'd swapped the heels for the flats she had long held preference for and slung a jacket over her shoulder.

"This is it." she whispered to herself. She'd never fled Lex before. He'd always sent her away, and brought her back. It had always been agreed. She'd never ran from him. She was scared, it was true. To what lengths would Lex go? To get back his cash cow… it was scary even to think.

She looked down where she stood. Two bags, her laptop and a car, that was all she needed. The picklocks and hacking gear rested snuggly between rolls of money, a handgun in the handbag and in her pockets, nothing but the sole photo of her parents from the back of her phone.

She was leaving both phones behind, she'd pick up a new one with her new life. For now, they both sat on the counter. Silence came down over the apartment. This was truly it. Chloe sighed, re-adjusting the wig and lifting the scarf and coat from the chair. The bags came next, lifted onto her shoulder. She turned back, feeling sentimental for an unknown reason.

The feeling passed though, as quick as it came, and she yanked open the door with her free hand, only… there was Lex.

"Lex." She stumbled over words in her mind. Lie, was the only solid thought. "I was just coming to see you." She backed up into the apartment again.

"With all your belongings?" he questioned with a cock of his head, pushing himself into the apartment. And then she saw the two brutes stepping in behind him as well. It wasn't good. The door shut softly, but the click of the latch shot a danger through her bones.

"I figured I'd move back into the mansion." she tried again. This time, he rose an eyebrow and stepped into the kitchen space, the brutes stationed by the door.

"Really? You thought you'd move back into the mansion. Tonight." he repeated. Chloe swallowed, catching his glimpse to the phones on the counter.

"I guess I should have called, saved you a journey." she attempted to laugh it off, but the tension was palpable. "But, since you're here, I guess you can help with the bags." Better to be stuck at the mansion rather than stuck in a cell for trying to run.

"See. I knew something was wrong when I started getting blank feed on the cameras." he started and nodded to brute A. He approached Chloe and extended a hand to take the bag from her shoulder. It took all her strength not to fight. Fighting would automatically make her guilty. Lex accepted the bag from the brute and knelt to the floor, unzipping the first bag. "Lot of money here Chloe." he commented, lifting his eyes to hers. "But this isn't enough to live on." No… she was planning to use Queen for that. "In fact, this will barely buy you a smuggling across a border." The guard set the next bag down to Lex. "Oh, wait, I see." And with a mocking grin, he slid the newest bag before him, unzipping. "More money." He smirked, but dug deeper and pulled out a towel from the bottom of the bag, almost like he knew it would be there. "What's this Chloe?" he asked, curiosity ripe, but knowledge firm anyway.

"What I was bringing to you." she lied.

"Really?" he questioned with humour. "Bringing me arrows." And he uncovered them to reveal the arrows. Chloe knew there was no escape, he knew where they were because he had extras camera in her apartment. She cursed herself mentally. How could she be so stupid? It seemed to be a running theme recently. She was going to have to buck up if she wanted to live. But… Lex knew too much, she would see it in the way he was playing with her.

"I found them on Arrow. Figured we could run for prints." she continued to lie, but knew it would be of no avail.

"Or, you could tell me who he is." he stood, raising to stand directly in front of her.

"I would, if I knew."

"See, now I know you're lying to me." He lifted the laptop bag from her shoulder, set it on the floor. "I've had a little chat with a technician, and… well, he was kind enough to fix the little mechanical error you've had with these cameras." Chloe felt her heart cracking her chest, galloping at an alarming speed. It was all over. Lex took the coat and scarf from her arm and dropped them too. He came in close. "I had a little look into the secret life of my property." he admitted. "Imagine my surprise…" His breath fanned her ear, sending chills through her. Then he was gone, stepping back, rounding her like she was his prey. "When I find out my property is not only in love with her job… but she's conspiring with him against me."

"It's not what you think Lex." She turned to him, hoping she could lie her ass off and win. "I was just getting close, false trust, luring him into-"

"Your bed?" he finished for her. He grinned. "How about we cut the bullshit?" He nodded and a brute came to stand a little too close for comfort, she stepped back and he followed her until she was sat in the chair brute B provided. A hand came down on either shoulder as she sat and Lex knelt before her, he looked like he was enjoying this. "I know you know who Green Arrow is. And I know you know who the rest of his cohort are, including the Blur." She felt a chill drip down her spine. "And I know I still own you… despite how much you long to run away." He smirked, tapping a finger to her knee and making her jump. "So you're going to take this opportunity to give me the names. All of them. Or… you're going to regret it."

"I don't know who they are." But her lie was useless. Lex sighed and stood, dusting off his hands.

"I won't ask nicely again Chloe."

"I don't know!" she exclaimed. Lex narrowed his eyes.

"Final answer?"

"Final answer?! I can't answer something I don't know the answer to!" she hissed. "Damn it Lex. Let me go!" She struggled against the hands, but they held her fast, pinned her back down.

"Just because I like you-" he started and he stepped closer. "Just because you've been a good fuck over the years, I'll ask one. Last. Time." His fingers glided under her jaw, stroking along her jawline. In his eyes, it could be either a caress or a torment, it depend on what day. Today, it was a torment, intended to show she was his property, that she should fear him… that she was fragile. "Who are they?" She locked her jaw, remained silent. "Who is the Green Arrow?"

Her silence annoyed him.

He stepped back, closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I took you from my father's hand. If he still had years left, I'd put you right back with him." he spat and nodded to the brutes.

Chloe knew that nod could mean nothing good. She had to get out, she had to leave. It was her life. Screw the laptop, screw the money, life was enough.

She grabbed the hands on her shoulders, digging her nails into the flesh and dashing from the chair as their grip loosened. Her hand was an inch from the doorhandle before legs and arms came in her way. Her screams must have carried down the entire corridor and even the entire block, but no-one came. Not as she battled fist to fist, biting and scratching for her freedom.

If she could just make the door, if she could just land a hit. But the brutes were effective as a team, they met flesh with every punch and a swift blow to her midsection paired with a swiped leg had her face down on the floor. A knee came to rest over her neck and another over her knees and she was pinned. She heard footsteps come closer, she couldn't see. But then she felt it; a stab to the back. Seconds later the knees were gone, the weight was lifted, but try as she might, she couldn't move a finger. She couldn't push herself up.

"Fast. Isn't it?" Lex's voice came through the veil of clouds that appeared in her mind. She cracked open her eyes to see him crouch before her, a gun in his hand. He lifted it so she could see it better. The barrel was loaded with darts of dark green liquid. "Paralytic." he explained. Slowly, he took away the gun and she found his eyes in the haze. Dark, sinister voids. He'd flipped the switch and finished with all emotions. He had gone. There was no more Lex… the light had gone, completely. "You were a valuable asset Chloe. And believe me when I say it pains me to do this. But I can't have you taking what you know to Green Arrow."

"T… ll.." she tried to speak, to utter the words that it was too late, but the words were mush.

"What's that?" he cooed. "Doesn't matter. You'll tell me everything I need to know."

Chloe tried to stay alert, she tried to hang on, but that drug was mixed with a heavy sedative and she was slipping away. Lex's face was the last thing she saw, cold, callous and god damn scary.

Lionel was right.

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><p>Oliver leant back in the chair. Dinah sat to his right. The computer was on its latest document, barely 1% of the drive looked at yet.<p>

"You're kidding?" she asked, eyes wide at the screen. Oliver had called, told her he had a drive from Chloe. Vic was on a date, as was Clark, Ac and Bart were drinking and this left Dinah being the representative of his 'team' in his apartment.

"Nope." he answered. No matter how great this was, he wanted Chloe more.

"This is the jackpot!" she exclaimed. "This is the graveyard of Luthor skeletons!" she continued. She could barely sit still. "We could have them in jail until they're mummified."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?!" she lashed out, catching Oliver's arm with her slap. "This is the holy grail. This is what we want!"

"And Chloe?"

"She's free! She practically shoved this into your hand and told you to do this. It's what she wants!" Dinah enthused.

"But she'll have this over her head." He'd spent the last hour with Dinah over the computer, looking at the files. They hadn't even finished a folder yet and they could already ruin the Luthors.

"She wants you to do this." Dinah repeated. But she saw Oliver's eyes and she softened. "It doesn't mean she can't come back."

"If we do this it does." he voiced.

"Not necessarily."

"You think the Luthors will stay quiet about her if we pick and choose out evidence?" Dinah had to agree he had a point.

"She's free." she whispered, an arm around his shoulders. "It's what she wanted… right?"

"Yeah. I guess."

"Besides, it's not like you could have had any future without her knowing about you." Dinah leant back. She was as torn as Oliver looked. She liked Chloe, Oliver clearly was head over heels for her and the two would be amazing. But… the files… it was more than enough to drag the Luthors through the mud and into a jail cell… even if it did the same to Chloe.

"I'll tell her." he spoke, and as he did, the idea became more pronounced. It started making sense. "She's free from Lex, she has no reason to tell him anymore. She's free!" and he stood, the chair falling behind him with the force. "I can tell her!" and he rushed to the elevator.

"Woah, wait. Oliver, you can't be sure." Dinah stood, racing after him.

"You said yourself. She had the opportunity and she didn't take it."

"That's different."

"How?" he challenged, but nothing was ruining his mood. This was his solution!

"I don't know… but… there's no way we can be sure…" she hated herself for saying it, for bursting his bubble. But the bubble stayed.

"I can. I know her." he swore, tugging on a jacket at the elevator came. "She'll understand."

Dinah saw his smile, saw the belief and wanted to buy into the theory herself. She didn't know what made her trust him so, maybe it was all the adventures they'd shared against Lex. But she put her faith in him wholeheartedly.

"You better hurry Prince Charming." She grinned, crossing the floor to wish the man luck. "Go get your happily ever after." And she gave him a hug before the doors opened and he rushed through.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>Poor Prince Charming, the Princess is with the Dark Lord...<p>

It's all kicking off now kiddies. Sadly, it does take a turn into darker territory after this chapter, but all will end well.  
>Xx<p> 


	38. 359

Oh reviewers, you flatter me ;)

I'm writing the last chapter right now. Without editing, it looks like the end will be chapter 43/44. (And yes; it's happy ;))

I know there's a bit of grrr towards Oliver, and sadly it will only get worse before it gets better. But don't you worry, everything works out well for both of them.

**Previously; **Chloe met with Green Arrow and handed over a flashdrive of Lex's crimes. In her plans to run away, she told him she was free, but as she returned, Lex stepped in and took control. Oliver and Dinah look over the flashdrive to find the jackpot, only they realise they cannot use it until 33.1 is shut down. Oliver rushes off to find Chloe and tell her everything.

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><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Eight; 359<span>

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><p>'<em>You're either with me or against me, choose right now.'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season Three, Episode Shattered).

* * *

><p>Chloe woke to a dark room. She rolled and corrected herself, not room, 'cell'. There was no bed for her, no comforts. Just a pitch black, tiny room she'd been dumped in, her limbs reached across to each wall with ease. She pushed herself to sitting, fending off the headrush. Whatever he'd given her, it did not have pleasant after effects. Her body ached, her muscles felt like they'd never been used. Like when you sit for too long and standing up becomes an issue. She noted to herself to find her strength again before trying to stand otherwise she'd be bambi on ice. She reached out her hands, squinting to attempt adjusting to the darkness. But it was pointless as a light clicked on outside her cell. Light streamed in, highlighting the window in her locked door. Well, she presumed it was locked, sorta pointless if not. Sure enough, she shuffled to it and confirmed her theory; locked.<p>

"Don't get up on my account." She heard a voice call, and there was Lex, peering through the window.

"Where am I?"

"You can be back at the mansion if you tell me what I want to know." he bartered.

"And if I don't."

"You'll have a little longer stay at 33.1." he announced. Chloe felt her spine tingle, 33.1. She was officially a lab rat for Lex's commands.

"Monster." she hissed to the bars.

"Such a difference from the saviour you used to call me." he reflected sickly.

"Let me free and I'll call you whatever you like."

"Tell me who they are and I'll let you free."

"Fine." she sighed. "Andy. Billy. Claire. Darwin. Edgar and Frank." she spat, pissed.

"Cute." Lex complimented. "Sadly, until I finish another little potion for you, I don't have much to do on this angle. However… there's another little freak part of you I'd like to try out."

"I'm not your lab rat Lex!" she hissed, but the sound of the key hitting the lock made her pause. She balled her fists, ready for the fight for her freedom. But as the door opened and she flew for him, she felt a shock of electricity pound into her neck, making her scream instead and clutch her neck. There, blunky beneath her fingers was a collar. A metal ring around her.

"Just to keep you in line."

The pain ebbed and she rose her eyes to him, dark and cold. In that moment, she knew the hate she felt towards Lionel had spread to cover the entirety of the Luthor coven.

"Just like your father." But the words didn't cause the usual flinch, in fact he seemed proud. Twisted; that was Lex.

"Try anything and I'll keep cranking the voltage up until it fries your brain to mush." he threatened. "Walk." he ordered, stepped back from the open door and gesturing down the corridor.

Chloe pushed down on the floor, crawling up from her knees to kneel and then stand. She was wobbling, everything hurt and she used the wall to keep stable but she managed the steps out of the door. From then, she refused to show weakness, especially before Lex, so she stood tall and walked carefully and precisely down the hall, but walking soon took an automatic pilot route back into her usual steps as her eyes swallowed the sight before her. Chambers and corridors, windows into locked doors. People crying, people screaming, people pleading in the darkness of the cells.

"Who are they?" she couldn't stop herself from asking, but she knew the answer; they were the other 'patients' of 33.1.

"They're the ones that behave." Lex narrated, sending chills down her spine again. He seemed proud, all over again. Sick. Lex was disturbed in the head. How could he do this?! How could he look at this and believe he was doing good?! They were screaming for help for god's sake. Chloe's eyes locked on the next door, the eyes of a child peering from the window, tears streaming down her cheeks. Chloe ran to the door, but an arm came across her track. "Keep walking." he ordered.

"She's just a child!" she snapped, whipping back to him. But she saw the sinister expression she'd hoped was just her imagination before. Lex liked this.

Lex didn't say anything, just tapped her collar with a finger. Reminding her of the consequences. Chloe stepped back, her eyes apologetic to the girl, but she was gone from the window. Lex nudged her and she started walking again.

Cold… the corridors were freezing.

Was the cell she'd been in that cold? Or had she just not felt it? But now she knew it was there, she felt it more and more, like her fingers were freezing on her hand. She tucked them into fists to warm the digits. Her arms crossed against her chest. She was still wearing the same clothes as before, still wrapped for winter, bar the coat, but she felt like she was freezing.

"Side effect of the drug." he answered without her question ever passing her lips. She chose not to reply. She couldn't without insulting him and getting herself shocked. So she let him follow her silently down the halls, she let him point left and right down the tunnels.

He was confusing her mind, she noted. They'd passed corridors before, but as he planned, she'd lost her route in her mind, the inner map had become a maze. She couldn't find her way back without Lex again. She imagined he didn't bother with this for all the others, just her. Special treatment sucks.

"Stop." he ordered after another 2 minutes of walking. She froze before the room labelled 325a. He pressed his palm to the scanner and the door slid open. He pushed her in, not waiting for her to develop hesitance. The room was white walled, clinical looking, just without the smell. No tables, no chairs. Just a suited man standing alone in the centre of the room. He stood to attention as Lex walked in.

"Mr Luthor. Miss Maine." He greeted them both and Chloe joined the dots. He was a security guard for the Luthors. In fact… she remembered his face. He was one of the guards she'd gotten into a bar fight so she could escape and see Arrow. He had covered for her. He was a good man. So what was he doing here?

The door shut and locked as Chloe recalled the man. The sound echoed in the room and she felt the tight grip of dread again. It paired with her cold temperature well. She truly felt the impending hell Lex was about the raise.

It happened fast, one second; she was contemplating greeting the man, the next; Lex was pulling a gun, another and the room exploded in a blast of sound. Chloe blinked and the white shirt of the guard was bleeding red, he crashed to his knees, the light already flashed from his eyes. He was dead before he hit the floor. But he did, he hit the floor, the noise echoing in the room. Her ears rang, her throat burned and the chill in her blood turned to fire as adrenaline shocked her system.

"Heal him." Lex spoke, no remorse in the tone.

"What?!" she asked, incredulous of his request.

"Save him." Again, no emotion, just an order.

"You shot him." Maybe she was in shock, she'd never seen this darkness in him.

"And he'll die if you don't heal him."

"I don't know how!" she spat, but raced to the man. He was already gone, already headed to the light.

"Figure it out." Lex just answered, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for the meteor power to kick in.

* * *

><p>"Sorry." Dinah whispered, Oliver stepping out of the elevator looking like a lost puppy.<p>

"She's gone." He looked like he did a week ago, when he'd dropped by every night to see her, and she hadn't been around.

"What about her phones, her car? We could track GPS." Dinah suggested, heading into the kitchen behind him. He pulled down two cups and started the automatic process of making coffee.

"Left both phones behind, same for the car."

"She left the car?" Dinah enquired, sitting herself at the counter.

"Just took clothes and money I imagine." he muttered quietly.

"Laptop?"

"Gone too." He turned back to see her at the counter, the same place Chloe had been little more than a week ago.

"Train stations, airports."

"Not there either." he grumbled.

"Ports?" Dinah tried, knowing his answer would be the same. If he had found her, she would be here with him, and Dinah would be kicked out the door while the monkeys made love. Oliver just shook his head. "If we can't find her… it probably is for the best. It means that no-one else can." Dinah started, tenderly approaching the topic. "Like the police."

She waited, gave Oliver a few seconds to process.

"You're right." he finally spoke, shocking Dinah slightly. She didn't expect that. "But we need _all_ the evidence before we do anything." He continued. "We finish searching through the information we have. We find 33.1 and shut this down. And then, we finish Lex."

"Or… we could target Lex first…" Dinah suggested, not following him.

"And what happens if there's something in these files that could condemn more innocents?" he questioned. "What happens if he sees red and blue lights and decides to cut his losses, burying 33.1 or demolishing it to the ground- everybody still inside?"

"Alright." Dinah agreed. "We need to split this load." she pointed out, nodding in the direction of the computer.

"Tomorrow." he thought aloud. "We start tomorrow. Vic will want to take the majority. Otherwise, we'll work a folder at a time each."

"Sounds good." Dinah agreed, accepting the milky coffee from Oliver. "I had a browse." she admitted. "While you were out." she finished and took a sip. "There's nothing that discloses the location of 33.1"

"Nothing?" He joined her at the counter.

"It's surprising actually." she noted. "There's floor plans, and it looks massive." Oliver had expected as much. "Huge… but, even where he has all the location of the old facilities- by the way, we missed one in Argentina, but it's shut down now anyway- 33.1 is never listed location."

"Internal security threat?" Oliver guessed. Had Lex known Chloe would betray him?

"Or…" Dinah began with a smile on his lips. "He doesn't need a set of directions to get there." She guessed. "Could be local, could be familiar. He could go there every other day."

"Possible." Oliver allowed, not sold though.

"I pulled Lex's schedule from the files as well." To this Oliver rose an eyebrow; impressed and curious. "Nothing stood out. Nothing labelled circus of doom anyway. But he's got a few _'appointments'_ we might want to look further into."

"Good. We have a starting point." Oliver smiled to her. She saw how it didn't touch his eyes. He was keeping himself together with sheer will it seemed.

"And then there's this." She shuffled in the chair, standing slightly to take a paper from the tight pockets of the jeans. She slid it across the table to him. "Lex's account details for Cobra Security."

"Cobra security… why does that sound familiar?"

"You probably give them money too." she replied smugly. "It's a private security system that puts GPS into cars. If they're stolen, they'll turn on GPS with nothing more than a password and account number." She tapped the paper again. "Like I said; we need Lex's_ real_ schedule."

Oliver grinned.

"You got busy after I left." he spoke approvingly. "I should leave you alone more often."

"And with that I'll take my leave." She stood, finishing the coffee. "I imagine you can handle Cobra tomorrow?"

"Thanks Dinah." He nodded, standing with her.

They walked to the elevator together, but as she wriggled into her jacket she turned to him, her expression serious but soft.

"I'm sorry Ollie." she whispered. He didn't reply, but she knew he heard her. "She'll come back." To this, he met her eyes, the question hanging wondering why she's do that. "She has unfinished business." Dinah answered. "Maybe not with Queen… but Arrow still has her heart." The elevator doors opened and she gave Oliver's hand a quick squeeze before she stepped in and left him alone.

Oliver spent the night on rooftops, he'd taken Arrow up a step, it had overtaken Oliver. Arrow had a chance where Oliver didn't. If she'd come back for Arrow, then he'd be Arrow as much as he could.

He stood in the cold whip of the night air, a police scanner turned on on his belt. There was a jewellery store robbery in progress on the other side of town. He didn't care, he was going there. He needed it. Arrow needed it. She had to know where to find him when she came back, and if that meant he had to save everyone and be splashed across the front page; then he would.

* * *

><p>Chloe was back in her cell, awake and alone. Blood was on her hands, her hair was knotted, and she felt a world beyond tired. But sleep was not an option.<p>

Whatever powers she had were refusing to work and Lex had finally given up on her after the guard had laid dead for half an hour under her hands. He'd pushed her all the way back to the cell and shot her with a mint coloured liquid. Well, he'd shot her with it _after_ he'd shocked her again for trying to fight him off.

"_What the hell have you given me?" she shouted, kicking to force him further away after he stepped back. She rubbed her arm, but there was nothing but a tiny dot where he'd shot her with the serum._

"_MBN-4" he answered smugly. _

"_What the hell is that?" she snapped, but she felt no different. Maybe it was slow acting. Would it kill her?_

"_During sleep, the brain repairs cell that are damaged during the day." he lectured, standing in the doorway again, his hand on the button that would shock her if she lunged for him like her eyes promised she would. "So, if you can repair the cells without 8 hours of sleep… why not?"_

_Had he given her some drug to prevent her sleeping? What use would that have? But he explained. "MBN-4 turned 8 hours of repair into 30 minutes per night." At least that explained how he worked with such little sleep, but why was he using this on her, she had nothing to do. And there… that was the reason. "So that means you'll be awake for 23 hours and 30 minutes every day you're here." He watched her freeze, the realisation sitting in. "With nothing to do but think." He crouched before her, his finger poised for her attack, but it didn't come. "We trialled it on prisoners… 23% killed themselves within the week." He rose a finger to stroke along her jaw, she moved from him, but his fingers grasped tighter, forcing her eyes to him. "They pleaded, they said they'd do anything."_

"_You wish I was that weak." she hissed._

"_The beauty is-" he grinned. "Even if you wanted to sleep longer you can't, and your brain and body, although fully repaired, they still crave those extra unattainable hours. It hurts. It really hurts." He ran his thumb over her lips. "You hallucinate after three days, become paranoid after five, and your brain starts to mimic schizophrenia after nine." He paused, dropping his thumb. "You'll tell me anything I need to know, whether you want to or not." If her eyes spoke the truth, it was a promise to rip him limb from limb. "I can double doses if you like." he proposed sadistically. _

"_This is sleep deprivation torture Alex." she hissed to him. _

"_Careful Chloe." he warned and his grip came back to her jaw tightly. "It's a fine line."_

"_You'd torture me for a simple name?!"_

"_You're only torturing yourself by refusing me answers Chloe." She snarled, or something akin to a snarl at him. He just grinned and crushed his lips to hers. The show of power pushing her will into a corner. She was well and truly his prey. "I'll be back tomorrow for your confession." And he dropped her jaw, a smug smile on his lips as he locked her in the darkness with nothing but herself._

That was hours ago. Now, even in the darkness, even as her mind grew weary, she stayed alert and awake. Nothing but the crying of the other prisoners around her to keep her company. No bed, no blanket for the chill of winter, no chair, no toilet, no shower. Just four walls.

She hated to admit it, but Lex had chosen a clever way to drain information from her. Sleep deprivation was harsh and yet didn't leave a mark. Well, it didn't leave a physical mark, psychologically, the brain was fried. She wondered why Lex hadn't turned mental, but he probably didn't take this every night, just chose when he needed it.

Chloe wasn't craving sleep right now though, she was craving the toilet, a shower and… something to eat. When was the last time she ate?

She hadn't since she 'died', no wonder she was hungry. And the more she thought about it, the hungrier she got. Her stomach turned, rumbling in the darkness. Oh, she was hungry, that was the god damn truth.

Thirsty too, her throat was dry, scratching even. She raised her hand to her neck, the collar in the way of her soothing touch. She figured she should investigate the lock, see if she could fix something to unlock it. She ran her fingers along the collar, finding the clasp at the back, she smoothed her fingers along the join and along the slots. It seemed to be a triangular key, like you'd bleed radiators with. There was no way she could undo that. Not with what she had with her now, which was nothing.

A light flashed on in the corridor blinding the dark adjusted eyes and she turned from it. She was up on her feet the next second, pressed to the window. She watched a man dressed in black walk the cells, stopped at the door next to hers and hammer at the door.

"79. Relief time." he called and waited. Chloe watched as he opened the door and a scruffy teen stepped out, falling into step behind him, she wore the same collar as Chloe.

"Hey!" Chloe called. "Please, I'm hungry!" she cried out. The guard lifted his head.

"You're not scheduled for 30 minutes 359. Silence." he ordered then kept walking.

"Please, I-" and then he turned, and Chloe felt the shock race through her, just a small warning shock, but she dropped back to the floor. 30 minutes, she could wait that long… right?

Minutes started to slow, seconds dragged and she swore she'd been forgotten about until she saw the lights flash back on again, the teen returning to the cell next to her.

"359. Relief time." he called, hammering on the door of Chloe's cell. Chloe raced to the window. "Step back 359." There was that number again. Chloe stepped back, then again as he motioned his hand.

She presumed she was the latest addition to this hell hole, did that mean there were 358 others?

The lock clicked and she lifted her eyes again. She prepared to rush him, to get the control from his hand, but whatever he saw in her eyes, he pre-emptively gave her the same warning shock as before. "No funny business 359, or you'll be in here until tomorrow in your own filth." Chloe swallowed hard, but followed him from the room. She thought of how easy it would be, to jump him, to put the sleeper hold and drop him. But, then she saw the way the cameras followed her, the way the guard showed no fear to walking in front of her.

It was useless.

The walk was short, shorter than before and he stopped at a room labelled; relief three.

"30 minutes, you'll be dragged out if you're a second late." And he held the door open for her. She stepped in, expecting another trick. But no, whatever was left of Lex's humanity was filled in the room. Plastic cutlery on a bolted table next to a bowl of what looked like cold soup and leftover bread. A toilet and shower with nothing more than a bar of soap and toilet roll off to side. And a huge clock bolted to the wall.

Chloe got the impression this was Lex's version of a prison.

The clock ticked loudly, annoying her purely from the mocking sound but she moved fast, taking care of her full bladder and eating what was laid out. It was bland, cheap and showed she got no preferential treatment for being the ex-lay of the boss. She then moved to the shower, but there were no clean clothes, nothing more than a skimpy ratty towel for dying. Guess this was the limit of humane treatment for Lex.

Still she washed her hair in the shower, not bothering with her body, she wasn't quite desperate enough to strip off in the cold room to shower for who-knows how many cameras and pervy guards.

She dried her hair and only realised by the unlocking of the door just how long the process had taken her.

"359. Out." She heard and turned to the guard at the door. She took the towel from her hair and held it in her hand, again, she felt the shock shudder through her, raking her bones and skin, turning her inside and out. "No more warning shots for you 359." And he held open the door. She complied, dropping the towel where she stood and following the guard back to the cell.

* * *

><p>Lex lay in his bed, his laptop on his knee, Lana sleeping to the left of him.<p>

She was unhappy with him and he couldn't be bothered to fix it if he was honest. He'd come back to the mansion after seeing Chloe expecting alone time to ebb the anger he felt from Chloe's betrayal, only Lana had been sitting with his father in his parlour, learning how to play chess with him. There she was, laughing politely for the man. He'd diffused the situation, Lana had gone upstairs to bed without more than a kiss and a kind word, Lionel had been more of a bother.

"_How's Chloe son?"_

"_None of your business. What are you doing here? Again." Yes, he knew it was abrasive, but the man struck his every nerve._

"_So you know where she is right now?" Lionel probed again, resetting the chess pieces slowly._

"_Unlike you, I don't need a 24 hour tab on my property to trust it is secured."_

"_So that's a no."_

_Lionel summed, looking up to his son from his seat._

"_She's working." Lex answered dismissingly. Lionel waved his hand across the board, offering Lex to play him. "Please, make yourself comfortable dad." Lex replied sarcastically instead, walking from the game to pour himself a stiff drink. _

"_It's something when my own security can't find her son."_

"_She's where she needs to be." Lex offered._

"_You have too much trust in her son. She's already betrayed you and now you're letting her run from you."_

"_The contract still stands dad. If that's what you're worried about."_

"_Worried; never." His father answered, standing from the set and crossing to Lex. "Concerned; yes. It's a concern that double checks the numbers to find a hole in the finances Lex." Lex rolled his eyes._

"_Your purpose for being here?" Lex primed, turning back to his father. He looked less pale… was he on new medication? He'd make some calls after he left._

"_Simply checking on my son."_

"_Concern, I imagine." he replied smugly._

"_I am your father, it is my right."_

"_You lost that right the day you replaced my fairy tales with Sun Tzu's 'The art of war'." _

"_Losing your mother at an early age must have damaged you more than I thought Lex." Lex felt the anger bubble beneath his skin, Lionel knew exactly where all his buttons lie. "I am surprised you don't have more concern for your property Lex. You cannot let her walk away from you like this."_

"_You tried your method and she reluctantly obeyed. My method will have her begging to help me." Lex spoke, refusing to grumble like he wanted._

"_How blind are you Lex? Trusting her like this."_

"_Unless you have anything else to say Dad." Lex prompted, waving an arm to the doors._

"_I recommend you find her Lex. She knows too much to be out of your grasp." But he walked from the parlour._

"_Worried?" he called._

"_Concerned." Lionel corrected, leaving out the door._

Lex had gone upstairs to find Lana asking far too many questions. He'd given her short answers. She'd started pawing him, asking for answers with her feminine wiles. He'd answered with a rough kiss, taking his anger for Chloe out on Lana through sex. She'd been fine, until she'd wanted to cuddle and then called him cold and harsh. He'd forced an apology from his lips, told her business was getting him down and that was the end of it.

But now, he was sitting on the laptop staring at numbers and not finding the will to bother with them. His mind wanted to be elsewhere, he wanted to understand what the hell was wrong with Chloe. He wanted to have her as loyal as she was the first day. He wanted her to never question him, to obey and stay on his side. But the woman had thrown a spanner in his delicate plans and now everything was crashing. But there was the plus side of this; she had _all_ the answers, if he could crack her, the answers he longed for would finally be his.

He was sure she knew, sure as he could be. The way she looked at him, the way she blinked up and lied straight to his face. Her meteor powers on the other hand, they needed work. He didn't know the trigger and without their performance he couldn't bottle her healing skill like he had with others.

Lex shut down the laptop violently, sliding it to the floor under the bed and tried to find sleep. Lana automatically curled into his hold, but he found no comfort in her small hands searching for him. He was just angry… How could Chloe turn against him like this?!

* * *

><p>It must have been around 4am, she summed. She'd had her 30 minutes of sleep and like Lex said, she was left with her thoughts and nothing more. Her back hurt from the short stay on the hard floor, her feet hurt from the continuous tapping. They were tapping now, beating out the drum rhythm to an old song stuck in her head. She hummed along to herself, her fingers patting against her thighs as she sat, boosting the song's life. There wasn't much in her head she found she liked. There was Oliver, and there was Arrow, but she didn't find it a happy topic of focus. There were memories of Lionel and Lex, but Lionel was a nightmare and Lex was nothing but reflections and glimpses of questions asking why she hadn't seen this before. So, she didn't want to stay there either. In fact, she had very little in the shape of memories she wanted to keep.<p>

Well… she had Oliver. When she separated him from Arrow; when she blocked out everything Lex wanted to pull from her. Without all of the merry band of crime fighters she found peaceful memories of her time with Oliver and that was what she focussed on.

So she tapped out the beat to another song as she thought, keeping her mind occupied. The thoughts soon turned to daydreams and she leant back on the floor, her toes still tapping, her hands patting the floor as her head rested by the door. It was pitch black, nothing else in the cell, and her mind morphed her thoughts into somewhere else she'd rather be.

"_Chloe." Oliver called, walking across the beach to where she sat. The sand ran between her toes, the sun poured its energy and warmth down onto her skin, the sea raced against the beach with a calming sound and she pried open her closed eyes to see Oliver walking across the sand to kneel by her, his business suit as clean and crisp as usual._

No, she corrected herself. Why would he be wearing a suit at the beach?

_Oliver walked across the sand to her wearing beach shorts and nothing else._

Chloe grinned to the ceiling. Much better.

"_You look beautiful." he complimented, sitting in the sand. "I wanted to ask you something." he proposed and she cracked open an eye to him. _

"_What's up honey?"_

No, that sounded far to cheesy.

"_What's up sweetie?"_

Too puke inducing.

"_What's up Ollie?"_

Urgh. Why was it so difficult to figure out herself?! Urgh, she'd just have to roll with it, however little it sounded like herself.

"_What's up Ollie?" she asked curious and pushing to rise from the beach towel, squinting in the bright sunlight to see his features. He looked as magnificent as he always did, that five o'clock shadow of stubble across his jaw in that delicious style she loved. _

"_I think you should work for me." he spoke calmly, lifting the sunglasses from her face to see her eyes._

"_Work for you? Doing what?"_

"_Helping save the world."_

"_You want me to join your crew?" she questioned. "But Lex…"_

"_Forget about Lex. He's your past. I'm your present."_

Chloe opened her eyes at the classic romance novel line she'd given to him. She really wished she had a book at the very least… this daydreaming was going to end one of two ways; either dirty or elaborately. She sighed and went back to humming to herself, her feet too tired to tap now.

She had to find a way out. Attacking was useless, she'd be gone before she could lay a finger on them. But she couldn't stay as she was. No, that would only lead to failure of her goal; keeping Oliver safe.

Chloe sighed. She needed to either convince Lex she didn't know. Or, she needed to lure them into a false sense of winning and knock that shock button from their hands before they could stop her attack.

Well, that or lose the collar, but that seemed impossible without the key.

Lex… he would have the key.

She had to get close to Lex. It was the only way.

* * *

><p>Oliver turned in the bed, sleep not staying for longer than a few minutes at a time. He felt haunted by Chloe leaving him. What was he going to do now she was gone?<p>

He'd rang Mercy, she'd told him to buck up and find her. But, he had no idea how to do that. She was probably already miles away.

He rolled again, his pillow still smelled like her. He hated the reminded though and flipped it over to the cold side. His arms felt the burn of the workout. He'd been out most of the night as Arrow, he'd been flashed by the press here and there on his saves. But ultimately he'd come back unsatisfied. He'd lifted weights, he'd rolled across the mats with himself, but even now tired and aching he was having trouble adjusting to the truth; she was gone.

She was free from lex, but away from him too.

He closed his eyes, imagining where she'd be. She seemed like the kind of woman to like the sun, to be laid on a beach, sprawled out in the sun, thrilled by the heat on her skin and the soothing wash of the ocean. But… he could see her huddled in a blanket by a roaring fire in the middle of a winter wonderland too. She'd be right at home with a mug of cocoa and a good book.

He wondered where she'd be. He wished he could be there with her. But… he reminded himself of the same thing over and over since she left. It was what she wanted. It was what she'd been denied for years. She was free of Lex. He could hardly blame her for not wanting to stick around.

It didn't mean the thought of her being happy made him feel any comfort though.

He missed her.

He squeezed his eyes shut and thought to her, where would she be?

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>Review if you feel it<p>

Xx


	39. Punishment

I know what you're thinking; have I lost my mind?! This isn't Monday! Haha. Sorry to befuddle you, but someone commented wondering about a special double post in honour of New Years Day. And... while I was busy all New Years, I thought it was a splendid idea. So, Happy New Year readers, I do hope it's a good 365 days for you.

It's so awesome to hear you're all loving it :) You guys rock!

**Previously; **Lex tested Chloe's meteor powers, then dosed her with a drug (MBN-4) to remove her need to sleep so she could suffer more all alone with her thoughts. He's a cruel cruel man.  
>Oliver returned unsatisfied from his search for Chloe, but our dear heroine was still thinking of him.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Thirty-Nine; Punishment<span>

* * *

><p>'You could live like a queen by my side, or get tossed out with the rest of the garbage'- Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Onyx).<p>

* * *

><p>Lex was walking the halls of 33.1 at 8am, Lana still asleep in his bed. He wanted to know if Chloe had cracked yet. Chloe was always strong, but she'd been broken by his father, and the cracks never healed properly, she'd always be easy to break again.<p>

"How is she?" Lex asked, walking with the night guard yet to be relieved of his duty.

"359?" he confirmed and found Lex's nod. "Doesn't seem that affected in all honesty. Most are crawling up the walls their first night on MBN-4, she just laid back and kept busy."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah, she didn't sleep… well, I don't think. But, she spent a lot of time with her eyes closed."

"Hmmm."

"What's so special about her anyway? Bet her meteor cocktail just doesn't respond as well to the drugs." he guessed, no education into the situation other than staff gossip and what he'd heard in halls.

"I want to know what she knows." Lex simply answered.

"Sir." An assistant in a white coat came running behind the two. "Dr Palmer has finished the trial batch, but said you had to approve the test subject."

"Which?" Lex simply questioned, waving off the guard and sending him home and off duty.

"Ummm." The assistant pulled a notepad from his pocket. "It's called TTRX here. I don't have anything else." he answered, ashamed of his lack of knowledge.

"Clear the interview room and prepare a vial for injection." Lex instructed, instantly turning his route from the labs to the cells. The assistant nodded, starting a jog back to fulfil the orders as Lex took the opposite direction.

* * *

><p>Chloe was debating over the lyrics to a pop song in her head when she saw the lights come on. She'd discovered one thing about 33.1 during her night's stay; they were underground. The only light was man-made and only ever turned on if someone with a job to do came in. Every cell in the corridor went silent, wondering who the visit would be for. Chloe listened to the shoes walk down and further along the corridor, and then they stopped. 28 steps after the lights came on; she counted. And, that was her cell. She looked up, finding Lex in the window.<p>

"Morning." she spoke up to him, perkily jumping to her feet.

"Morning." he replied, pleasantly surprised.

"I presume you're ready with an answer."

"No. I honestly don't have that answer, but, I had a good night's sleep. I feel fantastic." And she stood, taking the established safety distance from the door for him. Lex narrowed his eyes at her, but opened the door, ready for her to pounce. But she didn't. She smiled at him, taking small steps to exit the cell and fell into place behind Lex.

"The game you're playing; it's obvious Chloe." he spoke, with every intention to offend and get her to drop it. But she just shrugged.

"Where today boss?" she grinned, but the sarcasm of the statement came seeping through. It gave Lex a pleasure to hear.

He nodded his head, indicating she should follow, and she did, falling into step behind him. But clearly Lex knew her too well, he slowed and either walked beside her, or behind her. Never in a vulnerable position.

They stopped by a different room today and Lex scanned them in before pointing at a chair. Chloe froze, her eyes on the equipment hooked up to the chair.

"What is it?"

"It's where you're going to sit." And when she rose her eyes defiantly with a challenge, he responded by holding up the remote to her collar, his thumb poised. Chloe took her seat, allowing the lab techs to come in and secure her. Once her hands were tied down, her ankles locked and her pulse on a screen, Lex took the seat opposite her.

Then there was nothing but the two people on the two chairs. And the injection gun again, this time the cap was filled with a dart holding a purple liquid, well, it looked purple, but she'd bet it had green meteor rocks in it. Didn't everything nasty cooked up by Lex?

Chloe watched with hawk eyes as he lifted the gun, stood and then positioned it to the crease of her elbow.

"Stay still." he joked, knowing she couldn't move anyway and pulled the trigger, the liquid shooting into her arm. She felt the invader inside her, her body fighting it off quickly and alerting her to it. "Now let's start off easy." Lex began.

"What did you do to me?!" she demanded.

"Truth serum." he stated. "Well, the first trial of it. Let me know if you feel any side effects." He grinned sadistically.

"Alright, I'm feeling a great big need to punch someone. I'm channelling to you." she admitted.

"Did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

She wanted to say yes, she wanted to say it was the best night ever. But the words didn't come out. Instead something else slipped her lips.

"No." Just a single word, but it gave her the betrayal of her mind. She tugged against the restraints but it just drew Lex's smile up further.

"Did you feel pain?"

"Yes." Again, she didn't even want to answer, but it slipped free.

"Were you in a good mood this morning?"

"No." He watched her curse silently to herself, her face screwing up in an effort to stay silent and not answer. But the truth slipped free.

"Were you pretending to get something from me?"

Chloe locked her jaw tight, she thought she could avoid it, but it slipped free.

"Yes."

"What was it you wanted Chloe?"

The machine sounding out her pulse was sky rocketing, pounding in her body and ears. "Chloe? What did you want?" he asked again in her silence. She locked down, refusing to answer and winning the war. Lex held the remote for the collar in his hand, his thumb stroking the button and the motion broke her fight. The words tumbled from her grasp.

"Key." she spoke, hating him more.

"The key for your collar?"

"Yes." she answered without a blink. It was strong, and getting stronger. She couldn't even fight that.

"How were you going to do that Chloe?" he asked and she found the fight return again, grabbing the answer before it could slip free. "How?" he prompted and she remained silent. "Tell me Chloe." And he jabbed a finger to the button sending her the shock through her body. The pain spiralled her body and the word launched from her mouth.

"Sex." she shouted, her cries of pain following. And then… everything was quiet, it was gone.

"You were going to sleep with me and steal the key." Not a question, just his smug repetition. He was enjoying this.

"Yes." she answered again without an ounce of fight.

"Well, I hate to disappoint." he joked. "Do you know who Green Arrow is?"

As much as she wanted to hold onto the word, the three letters were flowing from her.

"Yes."

The look on Lex's face was priceless. Like the world had been placed in his hands for his manipulation. He'd won.

"Do you know who the rest of his team are?"

"Yes." She couldn't even stop it. What was happening to the fight she'd had before?!

Lex leant forward.

"I'm going to enjoy this Chloe. Very much so." He told her, then, resting his elbows on his knees, he asked the all-important question. "Who is the Green Arrow?"

Chloe felt the fight return again, and took the name and swallowed it back inside her mind instantly. It was gone, no longer a threat to speak. And Chloe started to figure out the truth to this truth serum. Yes and no were free reign. But anything that required more detail she could fight for. If she wanted it strong enough, she could snatch it back. And that's where his name was.

She lifted her eyes to Lex, her silence filling the room. His smile drooped slightly. "Who is the Green Arrow?!" he asked again, impatient. She caught the words again, locking them back in her mind. She wanted to keep them secret enough that it happened easily. "Tell me Chloe! Who is the Green Arrow?!" he shouted and she snapped the tie to the words again, her own smile growing as his faded.

He took out his rage on her though, jabbing the button and holding it down while she shook, screaming in pain, scraping her nails against the arm of the chair. Her pulse was screaming on the monitor, flashing into areas that would cause immediate action in hospitals. But this wasn't a hospital, this was a prison and when he took his thumb from the button nobody rushed in to see if she lived still. Lex let her shake it off, let her lift her drooping head back to him and he asked one last time. "Who. Is. The. Green Arrow?" calm, collected… fake.

Chloe met his eyes with her defiance, the name securely locked up from the reach of the serum.

Lex stood sharp, the chair sliding across the floor and knocking over with a loud clatter. He set himself from the room and turned to the scientists outside.

"Fix it!" he demanded, his anger overflowing. Then he turned back, grabbing the arm of one of the passing guards. "Have her cleaned and in room 16 in the hour." And then he was gone, storming through the halls.

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><p>Chloe was set free from the chair, her limb body half carried by the guards in order to stand again. The lack of sleep and the shocks were really getting to her, she really just wanted to rest; to close her eyes and sleep. But that wouldn't be an option. Maybe just to lie down. The lights clicked on and she felt a familiarity to the corridor, there was her cell, she'd get to lie down. But they didn't stop by her cell, they tugged her onwards.<p>

"Where are we going?" she asked, stumbling over her own feet.

"Luthor wants you cleaned and presented." That was the only information she received. They stopped by the relief room she'd visited several times before during the course of the night. Apparently, prisoners using their cells as toilets created more problems than it solved, and toilets in the cells led to distractions and suicide, so they got the bihourly option of the relief room. Yet each time she refused the shower. The food was limited though, to keep the prisoners weak they only gave the food three times a day, and it was the same thing over and over. How she knew? She'd found a bored night guard who had a huge ego which, if you stroked, he'd be happy to talk. So she'd spent 15 minutes buttering him up and 15 minutes plying him with questions. He refused to answer most, but those about routine he deemed safe to reply to.

Chloe felt herself pushed into the relief room, the smell of bleach hitting her nostrils. Just been cleaned it seemed. How comforting. But the guards didn't turn and stand outside the door. Two came inside with her, she turned back to them.

"He insisted." They spoke and chucked a small bag to her feet. She knelt to open it. Cheap shampoo, cheap body wash… cheap underwear and to finish it off, a pair of cheap grey scrubs to top off her outfit. Just what she wanted.

"You seriously going to get your jollies off watching me shower?!" she hissed.

Neither replied. "Get out." she snapped.

"359, shower, or you will be showered." The words cut off her commands and took another approach for her.

"Leave and I'll be out and ready in 15 minutes. Stay and it will take much longer and Lex will punish you both."

They met each other's gazes and shrugged.

"15 minutes. You better be dressed and ready." And they walked out the door. She knew they would have cameras, but at least she could lie and say they weren't aimed at the shower. Having someone in the room didn't come with a denial option.

She stripped quickly, dove for the shower and rubbed all over with the body wash, not bothering with the shampoo when the wash would do the same job. It smelled as cheap as it looked, an overpowering mint tone that washed away with the water. At least it didn't hang around on her. She tossed the towel around her and quickly redressed in the clean clothes. They felt scratchy and uncomfortable, but the clock was ticking away and she was barely tugging the top of the scrubs over her head as the guards came back in.

The collar sat heavy and dripping on her neck, dragging her energy with each assisted step. She didn't even try to remember the course, she just remembered an elevator and then a fancier floor than the clinical ones on the other level. She didn't even know if she went up or down in the elevator. But she studied the door they stopped by. Big, solid, oak. Private too, no windows. The guard scanned in and shoved her inside the door, letting it close behind and separate her from them.

"Great. Another trip on the mystery tour of Lex's mind." she muttered to herself. The room was lit though, bright. It was large, with carpets and sofas. No windows, just spotlight in the ceiling. She sat herself down on the closest sofa; nothing else to do. No paintings, no locks on the chairs. Just two sofas and a carpet. She rolled her eyes.

"I see you managed to find a shower this time." She whipped around to Lex's voice, not hearing the door open or close, but there he was, standing by the door.

"Thanks Alex." she hissed. "What the hell do you want me for now?"

"Can you lie again?" he asked. She hadn't thought about it.

"Ask me something." she challenged.

"Lie." he instructed instead.

"I really really hate coffee." she spoke, proud of her lie, but ashamed of the words she'd spoken against coffee.

"They said it had a short life."

"So you're treating me a little more like a human now." she noted and stood. "Good to know." She faced him. "What do you want Lex?"

"I still own you. And we still have an agreement." It took her a few seconds, wondering if he wanted her to encrypt something. Her eyes scanned for a computer or laptop, but the meaning sank slowly.

"Are you kidding me?!" she hissed. "You're a sick bastard." She stomped over to the door past him. But it was locked. "Lex, let me out."

"We have an agreement Chloe."

"You have a new girlfriend and are keeping me prisoner. In case you forgot!" she wheeled on him again. "How sick do you need to be that you'll even consider this?"

"Chloe. Shut up and strip."

Chloe watched him pull out the button again. The magic button of pain. He watched fear cross her eyes.

Did he want her? In some ways yes, and some ways no. Yes, she was a lay he could manipulate and take as he wanted, no want to cuddle, no complaint about too fast, no need to care for a number of orgasms. But no, it was more about power over her than desire for her. To show her where her place was, that he could do anything he wanted and she could say nothing about it.

"Lex." Her eyes pleaded to him. He said nothing just stepped closer.

Chloe backed up, until there was nothing but wall. "Lex." she repeated, hoping to find some humanity in those black eyes. There was nothing. "Please."

He came closer, stopping only a short distance from her.

"Kiss me." he instructed. She could see the power high in his eyes. Chloe stayed exactly as she was, refusing the action. Lex shot his eyes down and hers followed, to the remote in his hand, his thumb stretching over the button. What could one kiss hurt?

Chloe pushed herself forward, pressed her lips quick to Lex and returned as she was before.

It was the wrong decisions to make. The grin taking over Lex's lips spoke volumes of how bad her decision was. She should have taken the shock, should have been pained. She'd caved once, and now he knew he could force her hand the same again. She was running scared… and Lex knew it.

"Strip." His next instruction was and Chloe knew she wasn't going to sleep with him like he asked, so she needed to start saying no before things went so far that she didn't have the option of choice.

"What happened to you Lex?" she asked, trying to mentally strengthen herself for the impending shock.

"Everyone has to grow up." Was his only answer.

"Not everyone grows into a monster!" she hissed, stepping to the side, turning them so she could retreat again. But Lex stayed where he was, hands in pockets.

"Maybe I am a monster. But I'm the one holding the power Chloe." He nodded to her, hand waving the remote before her. "Powerful men should be obeyed and feared."

"Or adored and respected." she challenged. "I see which route you chose."

"Despite what preconceptions you have about me, your suffering is of your own design."

"No. My suffering is because _you_ couldn't have _your_ way and like a child you threw a tantrum when your toy didn't behave like you wanted."

"Trust me; if I could buy a replacement for you, I would have by now."

"Bullshit. You were in love with me until Lana came along."

"Your breaks lie deeper than I thought."

"Says the man demanding sex from me!"

"We have an agreement." he returned back to.

"We also _had_ an agreement you wouldn't cage me, but here I am."

"And in that agreement, did it not say you would not cross me, nor sell my information to other parties?" he quizzed. "You broke the rules first Chloe. Remember that. You're here of your own doing."

"You're a bastard! You and your father have kept me locked up to your rules for years! Did you expect blind faith? Did you expect me to turn the other cheek when you crossed line after line?"

"Actually. Yes. The contract gives me all of these."

"Your precious contract kidnapped a child and you're now using for the justification of rape!" she snapped.

"It's always been your choice Chloe. I just encourage you to choose best when you couldn't see for yourself."

"The best?! Is this what you call this?!" she swiped a hand between them. There was silence where his look said everything. It said not to press any further, it said to cave to his wishes or regret it. "What? You want me to forget everything you've done and pretend it's a kinky Friday afternoon at the Luthor mansion?!" Again, silence was her reply, but he walked towards her, eyes telling her to come along willingly.

His hand came to her. "Don't touch me." She yanked back her arm. He grabbed again, more solidly, his face showing the annoyance at the need for a second attempt. "I said not to touch me." She wriggled against his hold. "Damn it Lex, let me go." She tugged again, crashing her body against his then jerking backwards, he held strong. "Let. Me. Go." She kicked free and Lex hit the little black button crashing her to the ground in pained screams.

She cried even after his thumb lifted. "You sick bastard." He shocked her again for the comment, just a small shock but it raided her system as effectively as the last. She lay panting on the carpet, her chest heaving, her eyes crying, her muscles aching. Her screams had faded into an echo now and she lifted open her lids to see the man once more. His eyes were cold, emotionless. Is this what Lana saw? Why did she stay with him? Why was there any interest?

But the Lex above her had reason in his actions now. He wanted to redominate her. He wanted her obedience again. He wanted her back under his thumb by any way possible. Either loving him (his first choice) or fearing him (his forced hand).

"Here's what's going to happen," walking back to sofa's as she stayed on the floor. "Every day, you're going to be showered, and brought to me. Every day until you submit to me, we'll repeat this." He leant forward, his elbows on his knees, his eyes raking her. "And when you do, then we'll talk about improving your living conditions."

"Burn in hell."

"You will lose that iron will, and you will become mine." His voice had no doubt. "I've been soft on you so far, and I was hoping I wouldn't have to resort to my father's methods, but sadly they were effective." But he didn't seem saddened any by it.

"I'll die before that happens." Chloe swore, her teeth bared to him, an animal rose in her, prepared to fight to the death. Lex saw the determination, he saw the threats draw out her claws. She'd fight out of sheer stubbornness. Maybe he hadn't broken her as he previously though. Just a moment of her weakness perhaps?

"Change of plans." he announced, standing, crossing to her, then over her form with a large stride, pressing a red button by the door. It was a speaker system.

"Sir." Came through the speaker in the room. Chloe turned, pulling herself onto her feet again as she watched him with curiosity.

"See to it that 359 is transferred to F-wing immediately and permanently."

"Yes Sir." And the interference over the speaker cut off with the release of the button. Lex turned back slowly, with a grin, his hands shoved into the pockets of his suit.

"There are worse things than me Chloe." His eyes cast down to her for a fleeting look. "Let me know when you've changed your mind." And he pressed his hand to the palm scanner.

His back turned and Chloe knew it was a bad decision, but she went with it, running him, slamming a foot into his knee, twisting it out and smashing his face into the control panel with a satisfying crunch. But the guards were on her the second the doors opened, the collared shocked through her, her screams shattering the halls, piercing the silence with the sound of the purest form of torture. She dropped hard, crashing to the floor on her own arm and taking a bruise no doubt. Six guards came into the room. Four for her, Two for Luthor. She had the barest pleasure of seeing his bust lip, seeing him limp into standing. But as she was dragged down the hallway, she heard words pass his lips that doomed her. "Tell them what they need to hear." And Lex turned the opposite way down the corridor, limping discreetly, pressing a hand to his bleeding face, oblivious to the screams of his name, to the curses on his life, to the threats to his manhood.

* * *

><p>F-wing was further underground, she noted they went down in the elevator. She noted because there was nothing else to do while the guards locked her limbs, tied her hands and caged her in. They rode for a good minute or two. Down to 14. The doors opened to a clinical chamber, the kind that made her think of the decompression chambers in submarines or spaceships. But the guards lifted her to walking again and strolled right through, scanning their hands as the all access pass into another world. And it was another world. They came through to the top level of a pit. A large ring that circled a pit a few football pitches long. Another chamber sealed off the elevator entrance to below, and she was being pulled towards it. Her eyes scoured the area, to remember everything and anything. Guards were few and far between, except for the four carrying her and the three (or maybe they were scientists, she couldn't tell from this distance) working a computer set up at the other end of the ring. Panic started to rise, what would be worse than Lex? The four guards stopped by the doors to the glass elevator, released her hands and threw her in, sealing the wall behind her. She rubbed her hands, searching for her newest exit plan, but as she slowly turned, she saw what resided in the pit.<p>

Meteor infected. Lots. It was like a private jail in there. Glass doors, every 4 metres, opening to show nothing more than a bed. But the cell mates were crawling the middle of the pit like curious animals, eyes locked on her.

"Meet the latest addition." A voice called and Chloe turned back to see one of her guards with a smile on his face. "359 is the reason you are in here." What? She turned to glare at him, pounded on the glass, but he looked like he heard nothing. "The boss has no need of her anymore. Thought you might enjoy her." And with a sadistic grin, he flashed his eyes at her, putting a hand to the glass she was encased in and lowered his voice for only her. "You better like it rough princess." And the elevator jerked into motion, his other hand hitting the button. Slowly, she descended into the pit of vultures, eyes on her like she was a fresh carcass. Chloe felt her blood race, felt her heart pump a mile and minute and watched through wide eyes as huge men approached the bottom of the elevator with a vengeful smile on their face.

"No. No. it's not true." she cried, but it changed nothing. They still approached, they still looked out for blood. A lot of men, she noted. A whole load of men. Angry, hating, blood pumping with testosterone and who know what kind of meteor powers kind of men. Chloe backed herself against the glass, but all too soon, the motions stopped with an ominous thud and the glass screen between her and the men started to slide open.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>I'll see you Monday :D<p>

As usual, review if the mood grips you. Any writer loves to hear back :)  
>Xx<p> 


	40. Humanity

Happy Monday once again. I hope it goes well.

Hugs to my readers and reviewers, you make my Tuesdays the best ever :)

I must apologise, I know how much you are all waiting for Ollie to play saviour, but the plot has a little more progressing to take before anything rescue related occurs. So... it might not be until a little later. And I accept your hate for that, haha.

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><p><strong>EDIT;<strong> Sadly fanfiction had a type 1 error for me yesterday and I couldn't access 'manage stories'. I had the update ready and edited, but I was in error all day. Apologies, but here it is. Happy Tuesday.

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><p><strong>Previously;<strong> Lex played with a truth serum only to find dissatisfaction. Feeling down, he went to his favourite past-time; demonstrating his power over Chloe. But Chloe wasn't game, and instead Lex left with a bust lip and painful limp. But not before he took his sweet revenge and threw her in a pit of his experiments, all told Chloe was to blame for their pain.

Lex should know not to mess with Chloe though...

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><p><span>Chapter Forty; Humanity<span>

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><p>'<em>Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war.'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season One, Episode Tempest)

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><p>Humanity. What makes us human? Some argue it's the fragility of human life, the time limit that gives us the push to move forwards. The tunnel at the end of the road on life's journey. But for some, the road cuts short, the tunnel comes around a sharp bend and the journey finishes bloody and torn.<p>

For Lionel, his humanity came to him on a Friday evening, as the snow started to settle on the ground of Metropolis. He was on the hunt for Chloe. Losing track of her like this had never happened before. As his property, he needed to find her. So, he was in the best hotel in Metropolis, in the best suite, in his best suit, ready to meet with anyone who had the right information.

He straightened his tie in the mirror, wondering if the yellowish tint to his skin and eyes would have been less obvious with another colour. He grunted to his reflection, the face a shadow of his former self, the skin too big for his face, the bones pushing through his frame. In short, he looked like death; old and haunting. He tugged the tie from his neck in a burst of anger. It was a bad day. He felt sick as a dog since he woke, his hair was coming out every time he touched it, he couldn't stomach the luxury breakfast served and he felt pain with every step.

He had all the money in the world and he still couldn't buy himself some damn pills to fix the pain. He grumbled internally and crossed the room to choose another colour tie for his suit.

But, the colours started blurring, the edges of his vision were going again. He kept getting lightheaded. Side effect of the tablet they told him. He told them to stop the side effects and create a drug that actually worked! They'd scarpered from his presence quickly.

It was the weakness that annoyed Lionel the most. He could do almost everything as he usually did, he could cope with the pain. But the dizziness, the sickness, the lack of appetite, it was starting to bite at him in ways he couldn't evade. He complained to himself, but headed to the bed, sitting on the corner and taking deep breaths. His heart felt like it was speeding into a buzz like a hummingbirds wings, his breaths weren't clearing his vision and his pain increased twofold.

Morality. It was something Lionel didn't like to face. But here it was staring a breath from him, licking its lips at the sight of his crumpled form, and it placed a hand to Lionel's clammy forehead.

Lionel felt a cold chill, felt the pain in his stomach crushed at him, and then everything went white and he felt himself slipping. Slipping. Down from the bed and onto the floor.

Human life… so fragile.

* * *

><p>"What happened?" Lana's hands came to Lex's face. She'd left him a voicemail, and he'd told her to come over without even listening to it. So, here she was. And the instant she'd come through the door, she saw his bust lip and raced over.<p>

"It's nothing." He turned his head from her hold. At least he was sitting, she wouldn't be bothering him about his limp yet. Fucking Chloe…

"Lex, it looks pretty bad." She reached out again and he let her.

"It's fine."

"What happened?" she asked again, stroking a thumb inches from the cut.

"Disgruntled employee had a few things to say." he grunted out. "Stop it Lana. It's not that bad." She wisely lowered her hands from her caress, understanding his male pride had taken a blow too.

"I thought you'd be at the hospital." she spoke instead.

"I told you, it's fine." he repeated, this time with more force. But she tilted her head, her expression confused.

"You don't know?" His eyes flashed up to her, asking what. "Your father was taken into hospital an hour ago."

"I know." he spoke, but as he saw the shock cross her features he remembered it was Lana he was talking to and amended. "I'm sorry." He reached out a hand, cupping her cheek, softening the shock. "With the recent reports in the news, there's so much work to be done."

"You're stressed." she summed before he could finish. Lex took the offered excuse with both hands.

"I imagine so."

"I can't imagine how hard it is for you to see your father like that Lex." And he watched a glaze take over her eyes. She was upset… for him. He let his lips take a grin. "I can come with you if you like." Her brown eyes were too big and soft for her to understand his family dysfunction. The truth would only repel her affections. "He might not have much time left Lex." And again, she cast down her eyes, guilty for speaking the words, saddened at the thought of a man she did not know.

"I've already called for an update as soon as he was admitted." Lex spoke softly to her. It was true, but not for reasons she would think. He had grinned as he received the news, asked how long he had left, asked if he was in pain, then had a celebrating glass of scotch when the nurse sadly informed him he was. "I'll see him before the day ends."

"Wish your father the best from me." She leant forward and pressed a quick kiss to his smooth cheek.

"Of course." The lie rolled smoothly from his serpent tongue.

"I'll see you soon?" she asked hopeful, but not wanting to intrude upon his grieving process. Her hand stroked caringly over his bald head in what he was sure was meant to be soothing. His mind was elsewhere though, only tagging onto the general gist of her words.

"Lana." he called back as she turned to leave. "The security knows to let you in." he begun and watched the wrinkles above her brow come with her short lived confusion. "I'd appreciate if you came tonight." Then she smiled, it touched her eyes, it filled her with life and purpose again. Allowing her the role of supportive girlfriend she so desperately wanted, and him; the company he craved on lonely nights.

"I'll be upstairs waiting when you return." she promised and pressed another quick kiss before leaving out of the room.

Lex stood after he was sure she left. He had little intention of seeing his father, but maybe one last gloat before the old bastard passed on would be necessary. With a smile, he stood to his feet, careful of his pressure on the injured leg and he cursed Chloe every step he took. Work first, then play.

* * *

><p>Chloe backed herself against the wall, prepared her body mentally and took short shallow breaths. She could run past them, but where would she go? She was still trapped. She could fight, but there were too many. An ache came over her chest, the overdrive of her heart shivering her bones with each beat. There were worse things than Lex… But surely the fact he was allowing this to happen made him a thousand times worse than her fate now. Besides, she would never tell him who Arrow was, she'd die first. And… possibly very soon.<p>

They weren't the men she first imagined them to be, they each carried their own menacing look in matching red irises. But whatever it was, it made them look even larger and even scarier than before. To say they were muscled was an underestimation, they were the kind of men you'd run screaming from if they followed you into a dark alley, the same kind of career men you'd see at the gym and wonder just how many times a day they took their steroids.

But they stepped closer, predators, hate on their features, fingers curled into fists ready for a fight. Her gender won her no favours, no questions, no pity. In the red eyes of these men, she was just the reason for their suffering.

Chloe felt the glass against her back, she knew there was no escape behind her, the only option was forward, past the angry mob before they closed on her.

She had to move. Now.

Chloe ran, sprinting down the left wall, barely escaping the hands that lunged to snare her. She was smaller, lighter and obviously more nimble than the men pursuing her. Two more came barrelling towards her, converging on her at great speed. All she saw were two boulders of muscle, she wheeled right hoping to avoid them only to find herself caged by another wall of muscle, his arms ensnaring her tightly. All her breath rushed out of her, his dark chuckle came to her ears and she felt alarm shatter her resolve. Was this it?

The arms caged her, lifted her feet from the floor and turned her to the other men as they looked smugly at her fearful form. By some miracle she put brain to the situation and struck down on his knuckles with hers, breaking his hold, dropping to the floor and running back to the wall. She paused, back to the solid brick. Above her were the calls of the guards, betting on her, joyfully cheering the men on. Cheering obscene things. It made her stomach swirl.

She took the breaths she could manage before the men could get too close and then she ran again, down the wall, ducking hands, diving between men and then she was at the other end of the pit, trapped entirely.

Where could she possibly run?

The men were grinning, sadistically grinning.

Then came round two. Her eyes scanned around for anything to help her. To her left and right were cages, glass doors with electronic locks, all open, locked in the open position. They offered no aid. Her immediate left housed a man, rocking on the floor of the cell, head in his hands, mumbling to himself below the noise. Her immediate right had a female, but she offered nothing. She just leaned against the doorframe watching the boys in boredom. What had Lex done to these people?!

"Flip you for her." Chloe snapped her head back to the voice that spoke. Two of her chasers were standing together, one nudging the other in the ribcage as he spoke. Both wore the biggest grins there.

"Race ya?" the mate proposed instead.

"What happened to sharing?" Chloe whipped around to the females voice, joining in the banter. "Besides, I want the beating heart."

"Fight you for it bitch." the first guy replied, leaning forward into a hunting crouch, but this fight was for the other female, not Chloe.

What had Lex created down here? Did they crave nothing but violence and war?

_Project Ares_, named after the Grecian god of war.

Chloe knew what had happened. One of Lex's early projects, working with the military. He took the best squad he could find, injected them all with a meteor rock fuelled testosterone substance and watched the results. Chloe thought they were all killed, the project terminated. But, obviously not.

* * *

><p>"Oh, today is my new favourite day!" Dinah announced, walking into the Queen residence like she owned it. In fairness, she'd spent more time here than she did her own apartment recently. Oliver needed it, he was overworking himself in a bid to see Chloe again. The team were spread across couches.<p>

"You heard about Lionel then?" Victor answered her voice. They were having down time. Ac and Victor on the game console in a football match. Oliver napping on the sofa… well, he _was_. And Bart decorating a sandwich with a million toppings in the kitchen. Downtime.

"Not just Lionel. Tell me you've seen the other Luthor today." Dinah insisted, nudging Oliver. But Oliver met her with a shaking head. He was still going into work, still working with business. But, he was not as passionate as he used to be. Now; he delegated.

"Why?" Ac asked, turning his head from the screen barely a fraction.

"Someone's done a number on him." she announced. "Bust lip. Killer limp. Probably some other bruises too."

"I didn't read anything like that." Victor pointed out, hesitantly.

"Well, that's because it wasn't in the paper. Or online, genius." She rolled her eyes, taking a seat on the sofa opposite Oliver who was waking himself up slowly. "It was a watch and record kind of deal."

"You were in Smallville today?" Oliver finally piped up, trying to piece together the information. Dinah nodded.

"Wonderboy's been acting strange. I was called for a consultation." Lois and Dinah didn't see eye to eye, but Lois knew how to keep contacts, and she knew Clark had been busy helping the justice league in his spare time. "We went into town and he was giving the luthorcorp workers a good rally up. Made my day to see him limp off that plastic stage." She grinned.

"Any ideas who?" Bart asked, returning with a killer sandwich the size of Dinah's head. It was making her hungry actually… But, unlike the kid, she wouldn't be able to get through even half of that.

"No idea. But I'd sure like to buy them a drink." Dinah voiced, stealing a slice of bacon from Barts plate as he sat between her and Ollie.

Bart pulled a face, but with the loaded plate, he wasn't in a place to fight back without losing more food. So he accepted his loss and pulled the plate further into his body to guard.

* * *

><p>Chloe watched the men draw closer, anger in their eyes, hate running their blood, red eyes piercing her soul. But she saw the scars healing and healed all over their bodies, she saw the way they sneered at the guards above them… above all, she saw the hate they had for Lex for doing this to them.<p>

"I swear. I'm not working with him." she found the voice to say, raising her hands slightly, but still prepared to run.

"M'hmmm." one spoke, sarcasm dripping from the noise.

"I'm not." she repeated. "I said no. That's the only reason I'm in here."

"Spin us another one doll." And the speaker lunged, racing for her. Chloe took off, towards the wall of muscle to escape the animalistic pounce aimed for her. She found a gap in the wall of bodies, pushed past arms, paining the wrists that grabbed her and continued running, back to the glass elevator. She could call for Lex, tell him she wanted to talk. If only to get out of there alive.

Lionel had always said she was a survivor and would do _anything_ to survive. But Chloe had drawn herself a line. She wouldn't give Oliver up, but she'd give Lex what he wanted besides that to get out of here, even if that was her body.

Before she could make it, a body slammed into hers, knocking her from course and only the floor to slide painfully into the wall. Her head knocked immediately after her back and the dizziness came back.

"Winner!" she heard a man call. She tried to push up, through the blurred vision, through the swimming head. She just had to get out. A hand came to her though, grasped around her throat, pulled her with almighty strength from the floor and dragged her up the wall off her feet and away from gravity. The pressure around her throat was going to black her out through suffocation surely. The eyes that looked to her were glowing red like fire embers, but soft, guilty for watching her struggle.

"Stand down!" a voice called about all the other noise. "Let her go!" it added and Chloe felt her back slide down the wall, the hand removed and she crumbled to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. "Who's this?" It was a commanding voice, deep and rough. It spoke of pain, it spoke of anger, but there was a layer of sadness too. Whoever it belonged to, it held authority in the den of thieves.

"Boss got bored of a pet." one of the men answered. Chloe didn't see which, didn't want to.

"Yeah, she's one of his underlings." Another one chuckled as he spoke. Chloe risked her eyes and looked up to the men. All were dressed the same, standard issue military coloured wifebeaters and combat pants. They looked exactly like they were meant to be, a squadron plucked from a military base, locked for Lex's sadistic pleasures.

Lex had a lot of military operation; trial weapons, vitamin pills, improved armour. Funding didn't have a limit when it came to the countries defences.

"Proof?" the deep voice asked and Chloe found its owner. An older man, but build exactly the same as the others. The commanding officer.

No reply came from the other men. Chloe took a glance to the top of the pit. The guards were gone, their fun was over for today. She breathed a sigh of relief. If the guards were bored, maybe she'd stay in one piece for today.

"Speak woman." the commander barked and Chloe locked eyes with him, eyes that were a darker red. Was that because of age? Or… wait… no, she remembered project Ares's first trial had three levels of dosage. One group had three hits, another had two, and the last had one. The more doses, the brighter the red eyes they developed. It was a side effect Lex hadn't planned for, but it allowed him to differentiate his test subjects. "Woman!" he insisted again and Chloe refocused, absently rubbing her throat, trying to ease the pain.

"Chloe." Her aim was to speak the words 'my name is Chloe' but she barely managed to sound out her name around the ache in her vocal chords. She felt like she'd spent all day screaming herself hoarse.

"And what are you doing thrown in here Chloe?" he asked, repeating her name with annoyance.

"Lex. Punishment." she choked out and she watched the hint of reaction in her audience. Did they not know it was Lex?

"Luthor?" one spat out in question, she nodded but the commander silenced the viewers with a look and turned back to her.

"What does Luthor have to do with any of this?" he gruffly asked. They truly didn't know. She blinked up at him, they'd been here for years according to reports, how did they not know Lex was doing this to them. "Speak!" he ordered again and Chloe threw herself into the answer.

"He's doing all of this." she forced out. Her temper was rising as well, she could feel the anger that even those he held captive didn't even know the true extent of his perverted evil nature. "He's the reason you're in here." she continued, no volume to her voice.

"She knows him. She works with him. _She's_ the reason we're in here." someone behind the commander spoke. Chloe couldn't see him

"And he was the one who sent you here. _Are _you working for him? And be honest." the commander offered her the sole chance she would get to explain. But she barely managed to part her lips before another voice came to her ears, closer than she imagined.

"Gunna have fun ripping you apart." Chloe whipped her head left, nose to nose with one of the red eyed warrior, he was crouched to her level, flashy a toothy grin. Scars littered his face, his arms… she'd bet they'd cover him head to toe, but she scrambled backwards from him, kept attached only by the hand he slapped to her arm tightly.

Her heart was thumping in her chest, her breaths rushed in like each would be her last.

"No. No. I _was_ but I said no and he needs me to change my mind, so he threw me in here." she hurried out, some words managed to be vocalised, others fell, but the meaning still came through to them. The fingers around her tightened still and she flashed her eyes back to him asking for any pity. Whatever he saw, he smirked and lifted his forefinger from her in a show of ego. It relieved only the very edge of the pain.

"I suggest you explain better before their patience runs out." the commander urged, no care for the vice grip scar face had on her. Chloe prayed the truth would set her free this time.

"I was blackmailed by the Luthors to working with them. Lex wanted me to cross a line I couldn't. He drugged me with some truth serum thing then threw me in here when it didn't work and I wouldn't sleep with him." she sped out. The fingers around her tugged her fast and she found herself spread on the floor beneath the brute, his second hand pinning her down.

"She's lying." he spoke.

"Jayden!" the commander called aloud without taking his eyes from her. Chloe didn't see much, just heard quick, light footsteps and then there was a skinny man, young and defenceless in her vision. He fiddled with his fingers, had hair over his face, but Chloe recognised him as the man from down the other end of the pit, rocking in his room. "Why is she here?" the commander asked of the newest man and a hand came down over her. Chloe tried to move away, but the man pinning her down was too strong and Jayden's hand rested over her hair. Everything in her body tingled.

"Luthor's angry. Lex." a soft voice echoed in the silence. Chloe identified it was Jayden, his hand still on top of her head. "Lionel killed a man. She was going to be killed." No emotion, just words spilling from him. But Chloe started to fight back at this point. If Jayden could see the past. If Jayden could read anything from her mind Oliver would be in serious trouble. "Lex wanted to know who the Green Arrow was, she wouldn't say." Chloe stilled, her heart pounding. He knew. He knew who he was. He would sell it out to Lex. She fought again, unexpected and knocking loose the hand on her head, but the hand on her back as well. She didn't know what drive her, but she dove for the man called Jayden. He knew and he couldn't be allowed. Her fist flew to him, but he was quick, moving aside, grabbing her hand and spinning her back to the floor in an arm lock she didn't know. Then, like she'd burned, he was gone. Apologising in a mutter, his hands shaking, and then he was quick walking back to the room she'd seen him in before.

"So you were telling the truth." the commander spoke. "Stay away from us and you'll survive." Those were the parting words to her, the commander signalled something to the others and they grumbled, but moved away. Chloe rolled onto her back, breathing out a heavy sigh. She had a lot of days that contended for the 'worst day of her life' competition and this was definitely a contender. Maybe 'luckiest day of her life' too.

"Told you we were under Luthorcorp." She heard someone speak to another. Luthorcorp? Under Luthorcorp? No… they couldn't be…

Unless…

The building permission for the fertilizer plant in Smallville. All the transport.

It would have been everything he's need to reconstruct 33.1. But that was… at least a year ago after the first facility for 33.1 was destroyed by Green Arrow.

All the records for Luthorcorp shipping, all the time he spent there. Who would look underneath Luthorcorp buildings for a secret lab?! No wonder Oliver couldn't find it, it was right under his nose. All the shipments to the fertisilier plant would be ruled out as Lex's work. But they were far from it.

Underneath Luthorcorp… seriously?!

* * *

><p>"Where was he?" Oliver asked after a few moments of quiet.<p>

"Who?" Dinah asked, too absorbed into the game to pay attention to his train of thought.

"Where was Lex?" he repeated. "He wasn't injured yesterday during the press conference." There was a lot of attention hitting Luthorcorp workers recently. One of Lex's escaped employees had gone to a paper and told them he had been underpaid and overworked like a slave. The paper had literally pulled the torch out of their backsides and thrust it onto Lex's business shadows, so he'd been in the press a lot. "So where was he?"

"Dunno. Could check his car." Dinah suggested and accepted the tablet passed over to her from Ac, who'd been using it to check the weather report. He wanted to take some girl out on the lake next weekend and borrow one of Oliver's vacation homes. Oliver said yes, he just needed the weather forecast to hold out as promised. Dinah tapped her fingers over the controls, accessing the GPS in Lex's car and rewinding. "At the mansion." She spoke to the room, watching it in reverse. "Still at the mansion." Then some more. "Still at the mansion." She continued with a sigh. "And guess what, still at the- woah, wait wait. We got movement last night; 11pm."

"Where?"

"Ummm, looks like Luthorcorp plant three." She sighed. "Probably forging some documents for the company". And it was instantly dismissed.

"Before that?"

"I'm rewinding." she replied with a huff. She knew how to work it god damn it. "Ummm… mansion and Luthorcorp most of the day." She answered.

"So what?" Bart offered. "Spar session gone wrong?" he guessed. "Tripped on the stairs. Angry employee. Angry girlfriend?"

"Isn't he dating that Lana chic that ran that foundation thing?" Ac asked.

"Yeah, the one Clark used to fawn over." Dinah supplied. "She couldn't hit an ass if it stood still and asked for a spanking." Dinah scoffed.

"So what?" Bart repeated.

"Dunno. My vote goes to employee. Would explain why it's not in the press yet. He's probably having them drawn and quartered." Dinah put forward and shuffled in his seat to get comfy again.

"Anything is possible" Oliver agreed, letting it drop.

* * *

><p>Chloe found herself wandering slowly back down the other side of the pit, she needed to know if Jayden would tell anyone, she found him in the cell, rocking again. She tentatively looked around, then stepped inside.<p>

"Jayden?" she whispered, not wanting to alarm him.

"Can't. Can't. Not an order. Didn't follow an order." He was mumbling to himself, louder when she called him name.

"Jayden?" she tried again.

"Don't ask. Don't ask. I tried. It hurt too much captain. He was my friend. I swear. I swear I did all I could." And the rare sound of male tears came to her ears. He wasn't in that room with her, his mind was elsewhere.

"You won't get a thing out of him unless you're a superior officer." Chloe turned to the male voice, finding herself blocked in the room by a large scared body. She didn't recognised him from any of the others who had caged or fought her, but he'd been in the mass somewhere and he made all the hairs on her neck stand up in fear.

"I said NO! Captain! Don't make me! Don't make me do it!" Jayden shouted. Chloe turned in alarm but found herself dragged from the room in a strong tug.

Chloe found herself gripped by the arm again, pulled from the room by the stranger then 'encouraged' to follow him from the screaming man.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked softly as she followed his lead towards the opposite cell. But instead of going in, he gave her a shove to the floor and took seat a metre away. It seemed they were talking whether she liked it or not.

"Sleep deprivation." The man answered when she'd already presumed he wouldn't. Sleep deprivation… her eyes sped back across to Jayden. Would she end up like him? "Familiar?" he asked, reading her features. Then chuckled. "You really must have pissed off the boss." Her eyes flew back to the man. "Chloe right? Welcome to F-wing." Then unexpectedly, he offered her his name "Mason." She nodded, but said nothing. "How much you know about us?"

"Military. Project Ares. Nothing more." But her inner curious cat was coming back. "How long have you been down here?"

"Here for the story huh?" Mason chuckled, his eyes flashing brighter for that small second. "Sure pussy cat. Let's share horror stories." he announced to the room with a sick thrill. "See this room?" he asked in rhetoric. "What's left in this room are the survivors of three elite squadrons run in secret by the government. The best of the best." Chloe saw the red irises flicker again, glow brighter. She felt danger rise as his fists clenched. "But we weren't good enough. So we get told were getting 'vitamins' to improve speed, strength, agility… the works…" His jaw set with the memory, then he started again. "One squad gets a single dose, another gets double, the last gets triple dose. And then, a week on these drugs and we were hooked. They worked." A smug smile crept over his lips, the scar in the corner twitching with the sick joy he expressed. "And this investor comes and gives us an 'activating compound'. Next thing we know, we're in blinding pain, raging for the next pill and ready to kill everyone and anything for it. Our eyes bleed red. Squad one gets wiped off first, none of them had the will to fight as much as the others. Squad three had triple doses, they turned on each other the fastest, wiped themselves out. And then there's the middle ground, they fought, but they weren't consumed by it."

"This is all the second group?" Chloe asked, intrigued. Mason narrowed his eyes to her, not expecting the interest.

"No." He was quick to answer, then with a pause, he continued. "Commander from the first squad survived. The other two tore each other apart. Jayden is single dose as we-."

"What happened?" she interrupted, then saw the way he clenched his fists, the way his eyes burned. Small things triggered their anger, she noted quickly. "Sorry." she added, watching his eyes close paired with heavy breaths, then when he re-opened, he was back to his usual colour, looking at her with caution. Chloe sat quiet while he found the patience to restart.

"He was meteor infected, had family in Smallville he visited during the meteor shower. The meteor infection fed on the drugs they gave us. He wasn't addicted like we were, he didn't bother to fight for more." Chloe glanced over to Jayden, he was still rocking on the floor of the cell. No wonder Lex had him on sleep deprivation, he probably wanted to see what his body could withstand, his sick interest had no bounds. "Alexis," Mason started again and Chloe turned back. "Is third squad. The drug was meant to hook onto testosterone, so she ended up with the same effects as the middle group overall." He scoffed. "Still a bitch though." he grumbled under his breath.

"How long have you been here?" she asked, waiting for the natural pause of the conversation.

"No idea." he admitted. "Been moved around facilities. Time hasn't really been measured. At least a few years though."

"Jayden… will he know what I do?"

"Usually, yeah." Mason nodded, turning to the man in the cell. "But recently… the deprivation has been playing with his memory. Who's to tell if he remembers your dirty little secret or not."

"It's not my secret." she disagreed lightly, trying not to anger the man before her. "I need to know he won't tell Lex."

"You really think he's capable of telling anyone anything?" Mason sadistically pointed out. "It's only been two weeks and he's already relived everyone he's killed. His mind doesn't have room for your problems too."

"The drug… does everyone become like that?" Chloe could feel her heart beat slow for the answer. Mason smiled. "First, you get these mini hallucinations. You start to see things clear as day that shouldn't be there. Then, you start these dreams, but you're no longer asleep while you have them, so everyone can hear them. Then comes the screaming, the fears, the crying, the cracking of your mind. Everything starts spilling out. " Mason chuckled darkly. "Can't wait for you to crack, bet you'll be more fun than him." And with that, he pushed from the floor and strolled off further down the pit.

"359" Chloe heard the number called from above and she froze. The number annoyed her for many reasons. All her life she'd been happy playing other names, other people, but it had always been a person, she'd always had an identity. But, above that, she thought of the 358 other people before her that had been where she was, suffered like she was, and she'd done nothing to help them. Oliver… he'd taken on an entirely new identity to save those without. But she'd just stood by and let it happen. Lex had always told her it was for the greater good. How did the guards justify what they did? "359!" they called again, limited patience evident in the tone. Chloe pressed her hands to the floor, standing and glancing up to the speaker stood at the top of the elevator. "Elevator, now." he ordered and Chloe started walking. Red eyes turned to stare at her, edging her nerves, rising the heckles on her back, general creeping her eyes. But the eyes followed her, bodies started to converge behind her. Curiosity was leading them.

"359?" one asked from behind her. She kept walking, silent.

"Numbers?" another asked. Clearly they'd kept their names.

"Back away from her!" The order came from above, but the men paused for only a second before speeding up their walking. "359. Alone." But the men kept walking. Chloe was hardly going to tell the men to stop doing anything they wanted, so she just watched above as she stopped before the elevator. She saw the superior guard on the left of the speaker nod behind him, then there was the sound of leaking gas, the hiss of trouble. Then a white cloud sprayed over the pit, but Chloe didn't have a chance to say anything before her collar came on, sending her into screaming, throwing her to the floor and ripping her body with the high voltage shocks. The main shock bottomed out quick, but she was still receiving small signals and it was keeping her on the floor, keeping her crying in pain, keeping her where she was. Vulnerable. Then it stopped and gloved hands were on her, dragging her to the glass of the elevator shaft. But it was there, in the pits of white gas, she saw the squad floored, eyes glowing as bright as fire in each one of them, like beacons in the nights. Whatever they were breathing in paralysed each one of them, but their anger raged on inside them. Chloe turned a head to the guards hanging onto her limp frame. No gasmasks. Whatever that concoction was, it was tailored to them and them alone.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>Chloe's out of trouble, but Lex is far from satisfied. What will he do next? It's Lex, so anything is possible.<p>

Review's make writers happy :)  
>Xx<p> 


	41. The Hand That Feeds

Happy early Monday; 2:40am seems like a wonderful time to post :D Hope you have a lovely week.

Oh you beautiful reviewers :) You just want me to blush, don't you? (It's working)

For those who are interested, yes; Clark does make an appearance later on.

Please don't be too hard on the JLA, their leader is an unhappy bunny without his Chloe, he cannot think straight and thus the entire group is suffering from lack of awesomeness.

**Previously; **Lionel was admitted to hospital. Chloe had a run around f-wing, discovering the truth of another of Lex's pet projects and the location of 33.1. The JLA have accessed the GPS to Lex's vehicles and are following his footsteps, hoping he will lead them to 33.1, but all he seems to do is work. (Hehe)

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Forty-One; The Hand That Feeds<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Don't worry dad. I still have plenty of land to conquer above sea level before I take on the underworld.'<em>- Lex Luthor (Season Six, Episode Nemesis)

* * *

><p>Lex walked down the corridor of Metropolis General, he whistled absently to himself. He was taking his time, trying to cover the limp he was battling against. He was winning his fight.<p>

His father on the other hand…

Was it sick Lex derived pleasure from the announcement of his father's admission to hospital? Possibly.

Was it wrong that he hoped he never left the hospital again? Probably.

Did Lex care? No, he whistled happily down the empty corridors towards his father's room. It was clear which; men in black suits stood outside, constantly on alert. Nurses would pass scared glances as they scurried past. Satan was dying, who wouldn't be scared of his final words? His son perhaps?

Lex heard his phone's ringtone before he felt it. The winter was clawing at the air, forcing coats and gloves onto those who dared to pass through it. He lifted out the phone. It was his lead researcher in the bioweapons development, currently working on his truth serum. He'd created a lot of things for Lex, but none were as important as this right now.

"This better be good news." Lex answered, stopping his movement closer to hell's doorway.

"_I have a projection for completion of the drug, without impairing side effects."_

"I couldn't care less about side effects. I just need it to work."

"_I thought you'd say that,"_ Sometimes, Lex wondered if he took as much pleasure from his job as his voice said. It always sounded sadistically pleased with himself. _"One month."_

"A month." Lex repeated. "I don't have a month. You have a week."

"_Then you'll have a drug that doesn't work."_ Lex rarely had someone strong willed enough to reply like that (except Chloe). He admired it sickly. _"I projected a month, and it will take a month. If you want it sooner, then you'll want to hire another scientist." _And then the sadistic sarcasm cropped back up _"Oh, wait… but that would take more than a month to hire them, get them up to speed, figure out how much to pay them for silence… find material to blackmail them…" _he continued cockily.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking you are irreplaceable." And Lex felt his lips curve into a smile as no witty reply came. "You have a month, but not a day later. And if there are any complications you know the price." And Lex hung up. He had the time… but so did Chloe. He wondered off hand how she was doing, if they'd ripped her to pieces yet. He grinned, picked up his whistle and put the skip back in his step.

A month. He could work with that.

"Mr Luthor requested no visitors." A guard informed, blocking Lionel's door with a hand.

"I don't aim to visit." Lex answered. "Just gloat." And he knocked aside the man's arm to enter the room. Lionel was lying across the bed, an oxygen mask across his nose and mouth, his eyes a sickly yellow as they focussed on Lex.

Lionel sighed, but waved off the guards and the door shut.

"Here to pity a dying man?" Lionel asked, tugging down the oxygen.

"That would require feelings for said old man." Lex replied, moving across and taking the chart from the edge of the bed. He tutted as he read. "Doesn't look good Dad."

"Neither does your face. What happened?"

"Don't act like you care. You might not have much time left and already a long list of sins to repent for, best not to add lying." Lex grinned sickly.

"Oh Lex. Take your party elsewhere, I'm not in the mood."

"Dying does that to you." Lex wittily answered, then set back the chart and moved further towards his father, taking the seat next to the bed and unbuttoning the coat as he sat. "So tell me Dad. How does it feel? Everything I imagined and more?"

"Whatever happened to make you so cruel Lex?" Lionel wheezed, his lungs heavy in his chest.

"Would you like me to fetch a mirror?" he retorted, reaching out to take his father's hand with a strong grip. Lionel wriggled, as subtly as he could, but Lex squeezed tight. "I came to say my farewells. Nothing more."

"Farewell implies well wishes." Lionel stated. "Let's not strain anything."

"You're right." Lex chuckled, but tightened his grip still. He saw his father try to hide the grimace, it gave him a thrill. "I came to see you in pain." Lex admitted with no effort to smother the joy he felt. "So tell me Dad, how does it feel?" Lex listened to the heart rate monitor increase its beats and he smiled. "Problem, Dad?"

"I'd rather die here than watch the man you become."

"Says the father who not only taught me all I know, but murdered in cold blood, kidnapped and encouraged slavery." Lex pointed out. "Long way down from that high horse Dad. Mind the fall." And with one final tightening of his grip Lex released his hand, instead choosing to lean back; the picture of ease.

"If you have nothing better to do that annoy me, you need to find a new hobby, Lex."

"This is my hobby, Dad." Lex flashed a grin, the white of his teeth showing. "I'm thinking of taking a photo, letting Chloe hang it up in her room."

"Where is she, Son?" Lionel begged, the need for the answer dragging at him.

"Careful Dad, you're letting your emotions show."

"Damn it Lex. I don't have time for this. What have you done with her?"

"Nothing you wouldn't have. But that's a story for another day." And then Lex leaned in close. "Woops. Guess I forgot… you don't have that many days, do you Dad?" Lionel saw Lex's darkness in that truest glimpse of him. His soul was torn. "How many days did they give you?"

"Son. I'd appreciate if you left."

"All those medications; accelerating the growth, decelerating, freezing, burning. You've been mixing a big potion in your blood, no wonder it accelerated so fast. Imagine you have a week." Lex guessed. But Lionel's eyes filled with emotions he'd tried to hide from his son. "Less?" Lex read like playing poker. "Tell me it's less than a day." Lex replied giddily. "I do hope you changed that pesky will." Lex warned him.

"Don't worry. I've written you out of everything." Lex didn't seem fazed to hear this. He'd expected it if anything.

"And who are you leaving that vast fortune to?" he enquired, curiosity more than anything else.

"There are several charities in great need of f-"

"See. I know I asked, but I don't care. And… as it happens, I seem to recall a certain lawyer who will cross _any_ lines for the right price."

"Lex. You shall not forge my will." But without his dominating voice, without his challenge, Lionel was nothing more than an old man, confined to his last resting place while he lived. The doctors gave him little more than two days, a week if he was lucky. Lex was right, the constant experimentation had reacted and sped up the process.

"Oh, I shall. And I shall do whatever I like with the father's dying gift to his son."

"Lex!" Lionel warned. But it was without the fear factor. Lex felt his mobile return to life and lifted to see the screen again. It was the guard he'd put in charge of Chloe. Senior Officer Adrian Keith. It was amazing what people would do for money. Keith had been a respectable man until his wife had divorced him and found a better lawyer, Keith had barely kept the clothes on his back when Lex found him.

"My apologies Dad. I have to take this." But Lex didn't sound at all sorry as he stood, the chair legs scraping the floor. He walked to the door, but then paused and turned back to his father. "Cremated… right?" and with a laugh, he pushed open the door, letting himself out.

Lionel felt a coldness grip him. What had happened to Lex? Lionel wasn't the perfect example of human rights, but Lex, he was too far gone to even shed a tear for his dying father.

"How is she?"

"_Resistant." _Came the answer. Lex sighed and stepped into the hospital elevator.

"Meaning?"

"_We retried the experiment. Shot another subject in the leg. She healed him, took the injury herself."_

"As expected. And now?"

"_She took three shocks trying to fight her way out."_

"And F-Wing."

"_Disappointing, Sir. She appears to have won them over."_

Lex rubbed the bridge of his nose, watching the lights move down a floor as the doors prepared to open at the entrance.

"Of course she did." Lex muttered. "Alright. Dose her with MBN-4, increase it. Throw her back in. If nothing has changed by midnight, put her into storage."

"_Sir."_ The acceptance echoed and the line died.

Chloe had weaved them a story. His finest soldiers. His nuclear weapons. His fighters. She'd won them over… Damn woman.

* * *

><p>Chloe rolled in her cell, it was close to midnight, or so she thought. The others were sleeping, injured, but sleeping. The guards had been a bit chatty as they carried her back to the pit, they said the men had come back around from the gas and fought anything and everything instantly. They'd had to be drugged again and locked in cells until they calmed down, one had almost been killed. But she finally understood the lies Lex told to obtain new employees for down here. The guards were terrified of the men in the pit, they were told that everyone meteor infected would turn into the raging monsters that f-wing held. He told them he'd been looking for a cure, to prevent it, which qualified all the experimentation. The guards truly believed they were helping people, well, they believed they were helping the people out in the world; Lex told them those that were inside 33.1 were already too far gone to be saved and could only contribute to saving others before they turned too evil.<p>

Chloe rolled again, trying to find comfort in the cot bed. The doors were all electronically locked with bulletproof glass, everyone in their own little cell. Lex had doubled her dose of MBN and it was messing with her mind, she hadn't even managed to find her 30 minutes of sleep yet. She stared up at the ceiling, trying to block out the way Jayden cried softly, talking to himself about everything and nothing. The other may be asleep, but she was wide awake, like him, unable to find peace. She could hear him, grasped by a hallucination. From what she heard, he was reliving his first kill on constant replay. Her eyes closed and she wondered if she'd see her own version of that memory.

The first time she'd taken a life.

Jayden may have been following orders, but Chloe had no intention of killing the man she did. He was loaded with crimes, she even supported Lionel's plan to 'encourage' him to leave the city. The plan was that she'd get access to his apartment by posing as a neighbour, then present him with the evidence to blackmail him out of the city. He was a problem for Lionel's plans and also a bad man in his own right.

But the man had grabbed a kitchen knife, tried to add murder to his list of crimes. They'd fought, she'd taken a cut across her stomach, had 14 stitches that night, but somehow, he'd slipped on the floor and Chloe had held strong on her grip of the knife, landing it straight into his organs. He'd died slowly while she desperately called Lionel for help.

Now… she had no scars, no evidence of her past.

The only hurt Chloe had was a killer limp in her left leg that felt like a bullet had been shoved through muscle and bone. She'd been stumbled back into the pit, held up by two guards, the men had been clawing at their doors, banging on the walls. The commander had been sat on his bunk, glanced up, seen the limp and then went back to his pensive thinking. Chloe had been far too drained to do anything more than reposition herself on the bunk the guards had dropped her on.

But as she laid back, staring at the ceiling, all she could think of was Oliver. She missed him, really missed him. She wanted to feel his arms around her. God, what she wouldn't do to be back in his arms right now. To smell that stupidly expensive cologne, to see that cheeky smirk, to verbally spar… hell, to physically spar with him. She wanted to be wowed by Green Arrow, she wanted him to take control again, to have her in an alley any way he wanted. She wanted him to crash through the walls and save her, to sweep her up in kisses and fill her with hope.

But… he'd never find this place. It would never even be on his radar of possibilities. He wasn't coming and she was truly alone.

"359." A voice barked into the quiet and Chloe's eyes flew open wide. What now? "Transfer, on your feet." The electronic lock on her door clicked and the glass slowly slid open. Chloe sat herself up, put all her weight onto her hands and pushed onto the one foot.

With a test, she walked to the door, hand on the wall, helping her walk. "359. Now." The voice grumbled out and she wanted to curse him, she was going as fast as she could. "359!" he called again. Chloe's head came around the glass door and she watched as he saw her, but he smiled and pressed his thumb down, sending a shock through her. He watched with a grin as she gripped the doorframe, her legs crippling and dragging her down.

When the pain passed, when the shakes finished, when she lifted her eyes again, she saw the challenging expression on his face, asking what the hell she was going to do about it when he held all the power. If she had her way, she'd sling the damn collar around _**his**_ neck and never lift her finger until he cried for his mother.

But, that was _if,_ and in reality, she had little other option than obeying.

She pushed herself to standing, guided herself along on the glass doors, shuffling the good leg and trying to block out the pain from her injury. But as she reached the next cell, she found Alexis standing, fists by her side, her eyes glowing a brighter red than she'd ever imagined to see. Did they really glow like Chloe thought they did? Chloe whipped her gaze across the other side, men lined up and down, eyes red as burning embers, anger over their features, white knuckles. The guards were stirring their anger, and she was in the crosshairs.

But the glass… it would hold. Right?

A fist slammed against the glass and Chloe jumped, her heart in her mouth as the vibrations shuddered beneath her feet, shaking her bones. Chloe pushed from the glass of Alexis's cell, stumbled her way in quick step towards the elevator.

They scared her to be perfectly honest, she felt fear squeezing her lungs, forcing her to ignore the pain and escape. Another fist hit glass, then like a drum solo to a rock concert, it all kicked off, fists, feet, heads, anything possible slammed against the cage that held the beasts.

Chloe forced herself faster, but a metre from the elevator, she heard the ominous sound of glass breaking, scattering over the floor.

Chloe turned fast, alert, fearful. Then, stepping into the pit came female legs, stretching over glass then standing perfectly still, eyes locked on Chloe. Another glass shattered, then another. Chloe's panic was consuming her, she froze, locked as she was, resting weight on a leg that couldn't hold her, but she couldn't move… she just couldn't. Ruby red lights were pinning her from every direction.

"359!" a guard called, "Elevator, now!" he was worried too. Chloe didn't know what else to do. Risk it down here, or up there? Her chances seemed better up top. She turned and pushed off her good leg to attempt a run to the shaft.

They weren't to be beaten and glass slid across the floor scattered by pounding feet behind her, her heart beat was thumping in her ears, she thought she was going to die then and there. She grabbed the rail in the elevator, tugging herself further into it, men were charging towards her, fuelled by a rage she couldn't even begin to comprehend.

Closer, closer, even closer, they covered distance like lightening. The door of the elevator remained open, operated from above and ignored, and the men just kept coming. Chloe closed her eyes, ready for the impact, but instead she heard bodies hit the walls like hard rain on a rooftop, Mason was directly before her, using the ribs of the elevator shaft as monkey bars, making impossible jumps further up the wall of the pit, climbing higher.

Chloe felt the door finally close, bringing her higher inside the cage he climbed.

Their anger wasn't for her, it was personal. It was for the men that made them angry, the men circling like vultures, picking apart their carcass before they even died.

These captives weren't beyond reason. They knew their own comrades weren't the enemy, they knew she wasn't.

Grunts and pained gasps broke the air, it sounded like a warzone before they could even reach the top. She was out of the elevator seconds before Mason, thrown over the shoulder of the commanding officer and carried from the area. The last sight she had before being locked in the first chamber door was Mason pulling himself onto the top level, throwing the closest guard to the pit and grinning. Mason was a hound of hell, driven by pleasure, driven by hunger and he was biting the hand that fed with no remorse. He wanted this. She saw his eyes, saw the blood dripping from the corners, running down his face. But the smile. The smile never dropped.

"Give her the dose." Her guard spoke, she was off his shoulder, pulled along a new corridor while armed guards with stun guns crowded into the chamber they vacated. A lab coat grabbed her arm and stuck her with something pink, then she was dizzy, being led along corridors and different floors.

"Where are we?" she mumbled much like a drunkard.

"When you change your mind. He'll be here." The guard spoke, and then she was tossed into another cell. Empty, but pitch black. The lights clicked off as the guards left. But there were no calls of pain, no screams, no talking, no nightmares. She was utterly alone in the darkness. No lights, no comfort, no voice. She reached out a hand, but felt nothing, there was an unconscious wave begging for her and she stopped trying, letting it take her onto the cold stone of the floor.

* * *

><p><em>One Week Later<em>

* * *

><p>Dinah stood in Oliver's elevator yet again, grumbling as she read the morning paper. It was almost a week since Lionel had been admitted to hospital and now the headlines were telling her he was stable and making good progress in recovery. It ruined her mood. She flipped from the front cover to glance at the section Green Arrow had recently been dominating. Since Chloe had told him Queen was all down to fate, he'd consumed himself in the role of Arrow. Arrow she loved, Queen she wasn't making efforts for. So, every day, there would be a new save to report, there would be a risky photo of green leather blurred in action and it was Oliver's way of showing Chloe where she could find him if she was to return. Dinah sighed to herself as the elevator doors started to open. Star City last night. Well, early this morning actually. Small time burglar had been thrown to the city's police department. Apparently, he'd put up quite a fight and had to be fought down by Arrow. Dinah rolled her eyes and stepped out into the apartment.<p>

First thing, she pulled off the snow boots and placed them by the doors, then came the coat and scarf. The man had the heating on full and she was sweating the instant the doors opened. Dinah wasn't a big fan of winter at all, ever more so when it came early; it wasn't even December yet! It was arguable that she kept such a close eye on Oliver recently just to steal his heating. In fact… it was very possible.

Dinah stretched out her body, padding barefoot into the home like it was her own. Her first target was the coffee maker.

"Get out of hand last night Jolly Green?" she called as she started the machine, walking back into the living room. She heart a grunt, then the sound of feet hitting the floor heavily.

She knew that all too well by now. Oliver had fallen asleep on the sofa again. She rolled her eyes. "Coffee, I presume." But she didn't find the blonde scrubbing down his messed hair, squinting in the new light. No… something else entirely. "Seriously?!" she hissed, throwing a couch cushion at him. "What if I had been the cleaner?!" There he was, top to toe in Green Arrow gear, the crossbow on the coffee table where it had clearly been abandoned last night.

"It's not her day." he gruffly replied, annoyed at her accusations.

"I can't believe you crashed on the couch again. What's wrong with your million dollar bed princess?" She whacked the back of his head lightly with jest, enjoying her morning tease of his sleepy highness. He just rubbed his head, then stretched out his limbs from the ache of the sofa.

Several things were wrong with his bed. Like the stairs he had to take to reach it, the memory of Chloe haunting it, the way he'd roll over and wish for a warm body but got nothing but cold sheets.

His fingers brushed into his hair again, finding dried gel. He should have showered. Actually… he turned over his arm, the feint memory of a fight returning. "Seriously?!" Dinah chastised again, seeing the dried blood crusting on his elbow. Probably from breaking some poor criminals nose. "Shower. Then we talk!" she insisted, turning back to the kitchen. He didn't bother to argue, it was a good idea.

15 minutes later, he was downstairs, fresh and bloodfree to join Dinah who was finishing frying bacon in the kitchen. She had a strict rule that she would never mother the boys, would never be forced into cooking or cleaning for them. Would be seen as their equal. But… Oliver needed talking to. And men listened best when they had food in their mouths, and Oliver wasn't in the mental shape to be bothered by food. So, she split the bacon between two sandwiches and shoved one in front of Oliver as he sat with his coffee. He looked up from the table confused.

"What's this?"

"What does it look like?" She rolled her eyes and sat opposite.

"You don't cook." he reminded, still refusing to eat yet.

"I overestimated by appetite, figured you may as well eat it instead of binning it." she lied and he shrugged, picking up the food and taking a testing bite.

"What happened last night Ollie?" she asked the second after his first successful man-sized bite.

"Same as usual." he grunted around the food, realising it was good. Better than he'd had in a while. Wait, when was his last meal? Did he eat yesterday? He was out most of the day…

"Same as the last week actually. Except last night, Metropolis wasn't good enough for you." He looked up to Dinah, wondering her point.

"I got bored. Figured a change of scene."

"Or, you know there's a port in Star City that doesn't care much for legality." Dinah suggested, watching as he paused his bite.

"She wasn't there. There was no record." he finally spoke.

"You need to accept this Ollie." Dinah looked to him with eyes as soft as her voice, not wanting to anger him. "She'll find you when she's ready." She saw the circles under his eyes, the ache as he moved. She knew he'd been burning himself flat trying to find her. "You need to rest."

"I do." he answered without conviction.

"When's the last time you slept eight hours?"

"I don't need eight hours."

"Research disagrees." Dinah stated, but it didn't seem to change him.

"I'm fine."

"How's work?" she asked instead. "Queen Industries still alive?"

"It runs itself, Dinah." he defended. "I've been busy."

"When's the last time Oliver Queen was seen out in public?" she probed again.

"Where are you going with this?" And he set the sandwich down. Dinah had something to say, one way or another she'd get it out.

"Chloe left Oliver, and since then you haven't been him again. You've been living as Green Arrow with a desperate hope she'll come back into a town that she'd possibly be arrested in." Dinah pressed firmly. "She'll come back when she's ready. But you can't stop living. They'll be questions."

"She'll come back when Lex is gone." Oliver disagreed. "Lex is only going when we find 33.1" he continued, his voice raised. "I'm doing what I have to do to stay on task."

"You're burying yourself in your work, making a spectacle and hoping she comes back for your alter ego!" Dinah fired back. But Oliver didn't rage against her like she'd expected. Instead he dropped his head. It was true. And, he didn't have the energy to fight it. "I know you want her back. But the world will keep turning." She softened her voice, reached a hand across to his. She knew he was in pain, dealing with it in his own way. "But when she does come back, she'll need a man to come back to." she highlighted, tilting her head to see the eyes that looked so worn looking back at her. "Wearing yourself out every night is not helping anyone." No… it wasn't. "We have missions planned, your own crusades are fine in your own time, but we need you at 100% Ollie." It made sense, and he hated it. The Luthor financial past had dark corners to be explored, buildings to be broken into, shipping reports to be stolen.

"I won't stop." Oliver finally answered. "She needs to know I'm here."

"Trust me. She does." Dinah offered him a warm smile.

"But, maybe a little less." And Dinah felt a whoosh of success flood her. He'd seen sense.

"Thank God."

"We got anything for tonight?" he asked, lifting the sandwich back now that they were finished with the heavy stuff.

"Three previous purchases from Lex. One's a shipping company, we're going for the documents. One's an old warehouse; don't expect much, but worth checking anyway. And, one's a flopped business he was looking around, gunna take a look why."

"I'm in."

"Of course you are." She laughed to herself. Oliver wouldn't say no to anything recently.

"Any movement?" On Lex's GPS, she presumed.

"Not really. The press must have got him scared. He spends most of him time at Luthorcorp plant three. Hasn't been back to see his father either." Dinah noted, being the nosiest and most interested in Lex's life dealings.

"His business is taking a hit, he might not go back to 33.1 personally for a while." Oliver summed sadly.

"Any way you can speed that along?" Dinah asked, brushing the crumbs from her hands as she took her last bite. "Business man to business man?"

"I don't know, depends how bad it is." Oliver spoke. "I haven't exactly been keeping up with Lex's problems." he admitted and stood, shoving the last bite into his mouth. The size of the bite rose an eyebrow from Dinah. Men really did think with their eyes, when he wasn't playing rich boy, the man had no problem shoving half a slice of bread into his mouth at once. She stood and followed him into the office. He claimed the chair and pulled up the recent articles of Luthorcorp while Dinah tapped a pen against the desk and pointed at certain articles in an attempt to aid. The faster Lex returned to 33.1, the faster they could find it. This scandal had the press hot on him, he couldn't risk it until the media storm blew over.

"Nothing I can do." Oliver summed after 10 minutes of quick browsing. "Lex's problem entirely."

"Stupid man." And Dinah stood, stretching herself out. "Alright. Well. You need sleep before tonight, and I need to hit work."

Dinah wished him a goodbye and took herself off home to get changed for work. She loved her flexible work hours more than anything else, especially because of the recent missions.

* * *

><p>"Lex, please. Talk to me." Lana begged, following him through the halls of his mansion. "I know you're upset about your father's illness, but you can't shut him out like this. It's not healthy." His newest security had made the arse up of informing Lex his father was on the phone wanting to speak to him… in front of Lana. Lex hadn't been in the mood anyway, so when his short answer was 'no' without swearing, he thought he'd done pretty well. His mind was on the damn press anyway, they were eating up Lionel's sob story, feeding his recovery and then beating on Lex every time he went into work. It was grating on his nerves. Lana had decided something called 'date night' should happen, he'd agreed reluctantly and now she was upset with him.<p>

"I can, and I have Lana. We won't discuss this again." he ordered, but she wasn't having it, she tugged on his arm, turning him back to speak to her.

"What happened to make you hate your father so much?!" she implored, wishing to uncover the deepest edges of his soul. She wouldn't like what she found if she kept digging. "Nobody's perfect, Lex. But he's family."

"My relationship with my father is tricky at best of times Lana. I'd prefer if you weren't involved in it." And he started walking again. She was doing well to keep up with his strides, he could give her that, even in heels she wasn't faltering. He set it down to the long lines of her legs that he loved. But right now, he was craving the short stumps Chloe walked on, the type of woman that would have toasted with him over Lionel's demise, the one who would have sat with him and a glass of brandy as they forged Lionel's will. Lana… she was beautiful… but high maintenance.

"So what, I won't ever get to know your father?" she snapped. "What if we were to marry Lex would I never know the man who single-handedly raised you? My father-in-law."

"I'm not in the mood Lana." he insisted, huffing out another breath.

"Well get in the mood."

"Fine." And surprisingly, he turned, a hairs width from her. "We're not married Lana. He's dying. And he single handedly 'raised' me, because my mother couldn't stand the sight of him." Lex answered viciously. "Don't make the mistake of thinking my childhood was a happy one. I'd trade for any other family any day of the week." He was calming the more he spoke, she could hear it as his voice lightened. "My father needed an heir and that is the only reason I am alive. So trust me when I say I was not hugged and kissed by my parents like every other child, and believe me when I say I wish I was."

"Lex…" her voice cracked with sadness. But her next words spiked his temper back to heights again. "He's still your father."

"Lana…" he breathed out slowly, trying to regain his anger. "I don't wish to talk about this with you. Please." He watched her nod numbly. "Good." And he pressed a quick emotionless kiss to her forehead. "There's supper in the observatory." he continued like the argument had never happened, taking her hand and tracking their journey upwards as it had originally happened.

"Lex." She sounded apologetic even in the tone of his name. He tensed, but turned back to face her, awaiting the words she was going to crush him with. "I know you don't get along with him. But… I'd like to visit him." Lex hadn't expected the words. He didn't know if it was a request for his permission or just an entry to the worst possible scenario for him. He stopped all movement, his teeth ground into each other and he tried to release the tense breath in his lungs.

"No." he answered for a second time that night, and her response was much the same.

"What do you mean no?!" she hissed, pulling her hand back from his. "You don't control me Lex." And how often he was sadly reminded of that fact…

"I'm telling you right now. You are not going!"

"Lex! I can visit him if I want. He's might not have much time left, and while you remain heartless to him, I have nothing but good memories of him."

"You spent less than ten minutes around him Lana!"

"His own son won't visit him Lex, how do you think that makes him feel?!" she snapped. "He's reaching out and you just threw his request back in his face!" Lana stepped back, her eyes wide with shock and the start of tears. "I thought you were different Lex. I thought you were better than everyone else." He met her eyes, he saw she was slipping away fast.

"Lana, I-" but she stepped back from his reach.

"I guess I was wrong." she whispered and turned back down the corridor, her long legs striding to run from him.

Lex huffed out a breath, slammed an arm against the wall and dropped his head against it. Fucking women! Why couldn't she be more like Chloe?

Chloe… he wondered how she was doing. One week alone…

Had she broken? If she had, it would definitely cheer up his day.

Her hallucinations were getting worse, surely she'd be ecstatic to see someone real by now. Lex grinned to himself. Promising he would patch things up with Lana when he returned.

* * *

><p>Searching… constantly searching. The wading through documents was getting old fast. Only the thought of 33.1 was keeping them going. Victor, Ac, Bart and Dinah were working as hard as he was, sifting through the work piece by piece. It wasn't a difficult task, just time consuming.<p>

He wished Chloe could have been here, or contacted him… just to give him a direction to look in. Lex's computer was vast to say the least, everything had its own code name, and then subnames and subject names. It was turning into a minefield of numbers, letters and names.

Oliver leant back against the chair, the printed folder entitled RL-95 was in his hands. It answered a questions he'd had regarding Lex's custom made drug. In fact, as much as he hated to admit it, the research was solid. He was thinking about cloning the chemical signature for himself. It certainly dealt with the rage issues they face with RL-65. But, what Lex had done to achieve it… it was something else. Subjects in 33.1 had been his lab rats and from the reports, they were not all survivors. Oliver didn't feel comfortable using something Lex had created, nor something that he'd perfected by torture, but, the science behind it… it was flawless. He put the file aside, sticking a post-it note atop with the name 'Emil'. So far, there were a few science heavy sections they wanted Emil's opinion of. This one though, he wanted to see if Emil could adapt or change, borrow some of the science to help them perhaps.

"Ummm, Ollie." Dinah whispered from her place on the floor, surrounded by documents and folders much like himself. He flashed his eyes to her. The boys were scattered around the living room, music was loud over the speakers (as demanded by Bart's overly energetic spirit), why was she whispering?

"What now?" he grumbled low. Dinah hated manual labour, she wasn't too thrilled about being stuck at a computer or desk with papers to read through. She made sure everyone knew about it too.

"I think you might want to see this." she muttered in conspiracy and passed him the laptop that had sat to her left buried in paper. Oliver sighed, but accepted the screen.

"What is it?" he asked after a few seconds. He was feeling the start of a headache and didn't have the patience for reading screens.

"Little Luthor's been collecting Lionel's crimes too." she spoke, but kept her voice low. This still didn't explain the strange absence of loud mouthed Dinah. "Not just the ones she's had a hand in."

It was about Chloe. Now it had his full attention. Oliver started reading again, it was a copy of the obituary for Gabe Sullivan, then finances, Lionel's phone records and a transcription of an audio file. He read the beginning, then Dinah's voice came back as his eyes found the jewel she was passing to him. "Lionel hired someone to run him off the road. Pumped him with alcohol and decorated the scene." Dinah summed what he was currently reading. "He staged the entire thing to look like a drunk driving accident."

Lionel had killed Chloe's father.

… something bubbled inside Oliver, something he thought he'd made peace with a long time ago.

"Find the earliest entry regarding Lionel. Let me know the year." he instructed and handed back the laptop.

Dinah frowned, shrugged, but accepted back the laptop and dove into the new task.

It wasn't long before she lifted up sorrowfilled eyes to Oliver's expectant face.

"Dinah." he insisted when she swallowed and sealed her lips again. "Tell me!"

Oliver didn't notice the audience staring at him. But Dinah did, and she couldn't meet their eyes either. Why did she have to be the one to tell him this?!

"Ollie…" she tried, she didn't want to do this to him.

"He did, didn't he…" then he cursed. "Tell me Dinah!"

"D, what's going on?" AC called across, but when Dinah didn't snap at him for the nickname, they knew it was serious. Bart paused the music, sensing the nature. "Ollie?"

But Oliver was glued on Dinah, begging the words from her. He needed to know. He had to hear the echo inside his head aloud.

"Lionel had your parent's killed." she finally answered, her throat choking on the words. She couldn't meet his eyes, only saw his back after two seconds of silence as it left the room. She listened to him enter his office, locking the door behind him.

"That's enough for today." Victor broke the silence that followed. "I'll stay."

Dinah just nodded, taking the offered exit to deal with new guilt she'd been handed. Bart and AC didn't offer fight either, just patted their friends back in a goodbye and left.

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>Much love, hope you enjoyed some evil Lex. Even the evil are not without problems.<p>

Xx.


	42. Dreaming

Good Evening readers, I do hope your Monday is significantly better than mine.

Thank you for all the reviews, as usual; they are amazing to read and really convey your love. You're amazing.

**Previously; **Lex dropped by the hospital to gloat to Lionel, when finding his plans for Chloe askew, he ordered her transfer. We flipped forward a week, Lana and Lex are experiencing 'issues' while Oliver discovers the depth of Luthor secrets.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Forty-Two; Dreaming<span>

* * *

><p>"<em>She's the property of Luthorcorp!" <em>– Lionel Luthor (Season Two, Episode Accelerate).

* * *

><p>The first time she experienced a hallucination, she had no idea what was happening. She believed everything her senses told her of her environment. Like Mason had told her, she experienced it like it was reality. So, when she turned away from the blinding new light introduced to her dark prison, she had expected Lex, but the footsteps came quicker, more urgent. The lock clicked and then the door was opening, showing a silhouette in the light. It wasn't Lex.<p>

"Chloe." There was relief in the voice. A voice distorter she knew and craved. It was like music to her ears.

"You're here?" she breathed, finding little energy to push herself to standing. Her leg hurt, her body had been shocked into exhaustion and she was lame for all purposes. "How did you find me?!" she begged, squinting into the light. And then he was there, stepping from the backlight, showing the green leather in all its shades, the belt, the weapons, the sunglasses. Her heart filled, her soul soared. Everything was working out. He'd saved her!

"Chloe." he spoke again, deep and sorrow filled. "What happened?"

"I didn't tell him. I swear." she breathed, her lips curled into a perfect half moon smile. Had she ever been happier to see him?!

He'd saved her ass over and over, but now, she truly needed the save. He was her miracle.

"You have to stay strong." And Arrow knelt before her, darkness over his features, hands to himself. Why wouldn't he be longing to touch her? Did he not feel the same aching need she did?

"_Stay?_" she repeated, catching on the one word.

"It's going to get worse, you know that."

"What… what do you mean?" she whispered, feeling a cold chill over her shoulders. It wasn't true, the feeling wasn't speaking of the truth.

"You need to stay strong."

"You're not here to rescue me?" She reached out for the body before her, wanting to shake the man to sanity. But her hand drifted right through, she fell face first to the cold floor, her eyes lifted around, anxiously searching for him.

But before her was nothing but darkness. No light, no open door. No Oliver.

But that was only the first time. As the week passed, her sanity cracked further, more hallucinations came and no Lex.

Lex, at present, was stood in the security command centre, watching her latest trip into insanity through the video feed, live and active.

"_Go away!"_ Chloe screamed. _"I said I don't want to talk about it!"_

"Who is she talking to?" Lex asked the guard he'd assigned to her.

"Same as usual around this time." he gruffly answered, smug that he knew something Lex didn't.

"_No!"_ Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs, dragging her hands through the air trying to rid herself of the torment. _"I said I didn't and that's it. Go away from me."_

"Queen." The guard answered Lex's confusion. "Happens a lot."

"_Please. Please. Don't… you're not real Ollie."_ She broke down again, crying to herself, hugging her knees.

"How many doses?" Lex enquired, not taking his eyes from the monitor.

"One every night, for the week she's been in that cell."

"I trust every occasion is recorded and filed."

"As requested." Lex heard the reply and nodded, pushing off the console and leaving the room.

"Chloe." Chloe heard a different voice. Very different to the caressing one of the man currently with her.

"No. You're not real either." she snapped, annoyed with her own sanity. She heard the sound of the lock, then footsteps. She lifted her head to find Lex sat opposite her on the bunk, Green Arrow still standing behind him, cool as a cucumber.

"Chloe. I'm here." But Lex's voice was soft, like one would speak to a child with.

"I'm not retarded Lex." she hissed, still deciding if he was reality or insanity. The constant flips were doing nothing for her mood.

"Good. Then listen to me when I say I'm not a hallucination Chloe." There was the authority again. Chloe lifted her eyes again, he looked real, but then so did Arrow. But there was one test the hallucinations couldn't pass. She reached out her hand, tentatively stretched to Lex. Oliver just got angry every time her hand ghosted through him. Lex though, her hand didn't sail right through, it was stopped by flesh. Her eyes widened in surprise. He was real. She surprised herself by how relieved she felt to not have him waver and dissipate.

"Lex." She struggled to sit, her mind well aware of the Green Arrow in the corner.

"_You promised we'd meet."_ he cooed to her.

"Yes." Lex answered. "Have you changed your mind yet?" he purred, letting her run her hands up his suit sleeve like she was first finding touch as a sense. She refused to let go of the touch, he was real; that was all.

"_We made plans for Christmas!" _Oliver demanded, his voice louder than Lex's.

"You destroyed those, not me!" she shouted back, eyes glaring at her former lover.

"_You loved me!"_

"So did you!" she hissed. Lex turned slowly, seeing nothing but wall receiving her argument.

"Chloe. Who are you talking to right now?" Lex probed.

"No-one. He's not really here." she replied, turning back to him. But Arrow was filling her mind with endless questions. Why was she here? Would she tell Lex? Why hadn't she ran? Why wasn't she with him? What did she see when she told him? Why didn't she say she loved him?

Constant questions, continuously forced to her ears, demanding answers.

"I said I didn't!" she screamed back to the corner. "Leave me alone!" and she covered her ears, tucking her head into her body.

Then, there was silence.

Beautiful, blissful silence.

She felt hands over hers, carefully taking them from her ears, lifting her chin to look at him. Her eyes met his, but this time, there was no Green Arrow in the background.

"Who's there Chloe?"

"Ummm. I don't remember." she lied.

"Try. Who were you talking to?"

Had she called him by his name? Lex could be trapping her.

"I can't. I was angry at him."

"Who were you angry at?" It seemed like he wasn't accepting no for an answer… again. They hadn't discussed a lot of Green Arrow business. In fact, it was mostly relationship business.

"Queen… I think." she whispered to Lex and he nodded, expectant. She sighed inwardly, she'd passed his test.

"And Green Arrow? Have you changed your mind?" And the truth of the situation shot through her, shocking her into her reality once again.

"No!" She pushed with all her feeble might to remove him. He caught himself fast. "I said no!"

"Chloe. I can make the pain stop." he proposed.

"The pain _you_ put me in!" then she whirled left and snapped out more words. But these weren't for him. "God damn it! What do you want?!" and she curled over, crying for herself as Alfie came to view. He'd been her carer, he'd picked her up, saved her from snapping in the months she was Lex's new girl friday. He'd held her hand everytime she'd cried for her life, he'd sat her up straight and taught her to hold a gun. And now he was here, hunched over, asking her what had gone wrong to land her here.

Lex stood, letting himself out without Chloe even lifting her head.

Soon.

Soon, she would spill all her secrets.

It wasn't the lift he was expecting, but it put him in a good enough mood to fake an apology for Lana.

* * *

><p>Dinah turned the morning paper over in her hands. Lionel was still alive, his up and down recovery claimed the headlines every morning. He was interviewed, he was mourned before he even passed and the entire city was eating up his façade without question. If they only knew half of what he'd done. Dinah re-crossed her legs at the table in the coffee shop, listening to the pair of older women who were discussing the same news, blushing over how much Lionel had done for the city, gushing over how rich and handsome he was. Dinah wanted to sit them down at the table and tell them the real Lionel. But like all the others, she let them pass with their delusions. She followed her usual paper routine, flipping instantly to the regular spot for colleague and friend Green Arrow.<p>

Oliver had taken the truth about his parent's murder better than expected. Instead of a drunken binge, he'd crossed three state lines in one night, splashed his alter ego over five newspapers. He'd even had Lois submit a piece for a gossip rag, telling the world Green Arrow was waiting for the woman that claimed his heart to return to him. Dinah knew what he was doing, he was looking for a way to replace his family. Maybe he's never really grieved properly the first time around, but he was reaching out in all ways to have Chloe back in his arms. It was romantic… in a twisted way, throwing himself over the papers with these statements of a long lost love. But, that was just the gossip rags. The paper before her had facts and questions.

In the last three days, Green Arrow Bandit had been photographed in Granville, Star City, Metropolis, Smallville and Gotham. He'd prevented six robberies, thirteen street muggings, one arson, two murders, twenty drug exchanges, seven car jackings and one rape. But with these came the questions of why now? What had happened to spur the vigilante into such action? Why was crime at an all time low now? How could he be at every crime scene, but evade the police's capture? Does he deserve to be captured when he's working better than the city's police?

Dinah skimmed her eyes to the interview with the psychologist as the bottom. There were a lot of theories about Green Arrow's origins. But this psychologist offered no explanation to the roots or the behaviour, just addressed the increase in crimes.

"_I think it's clear that the Green Arrow, whoever he may be has experienced some kind of stressor in the past week. This can range from being fired at work, to the death of a loved one. Something has put pressure on the man behind the mask and he's expressing himself through the only artform he feels appreciated and comforted as. Much like a security blanket for a child, when things get rough in this man's life, he turns to his alter ego for security. He might not know how to cope with his everyday life, but as Green Arrow, he's in control again."_

Dinah rose an eyebrow. Was damn close to be honest. Though if Oliver read this, he'd probably visit the psychologist and put the fear of god in him, making him cry for his own security blanket. Luckily, Oliver stopped reading a whole ago. But this psychologist, he was onto something. But as she read on, Dinah chuckled to herself as he went from close to the truth, to miles away.

"_Does this mean he's schizophrenic, or have dual personality? No. He's as mentally sound as you or me. He obviously holds different views, but this is not a crack in his mentality, it's simply a stressor. It's strongly plausible that he works a home job or is possibly unemployed, either way, this is not a man that is well respected or admired in his day to day life. These work stressors lead him to seek expression through another identity to gain what he is amiss in his usual life; appreciation and acknowledgement."_

Dinah rolled her eyes and grinned, closing the paper. She almost wished she could prove him wrong and watch his mind explode. Oliver was one of the most respected men in the world. Women lined up to see him leave a limo. Hell, when he hires a new assistant, he has to wade through thousands of women who just want to be near him and seduce him. Not that he minded, as long as they could do the work well. But now… Dinah sat back in the chair, draining the last of her coffee. Oliver was too hooked on Chloe to even consider bending a secretary over his desk anymore.

Dinah sat the empty cup back on the table. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him; he'd lost his woman and learned the truth of his parents in the same month. But November would soon be over, Bart would barrel into Watchtower with decorations and insist Christmas was celebrated. And when Oliver would play scrooge, Bart would be the three ghosts needed to kick his ass back into happiness. The kid had enough energy to make anyone smile.

Dinah felt her phone vibrate against her thigh where it sat. She smiled instinctively. She turned, looking over her shoulder at the car that had just pulled up outside the coffee shop. There, in the front seat, with eyes locked on her, was Bruce Wayne. Things had kicked off since their accidental meeting and now, she was proud recipient of a second date with Bruce Wayne. Standing, she opened the text message from him, already knowing it would be some form of greeting to let her know he had pulled up. She grinned at it, then up to him, watching as his own lips curved to match hers.

'_Time to go, beautiful'_

* * *

><p>Chloe found herself stirring into clarity in her isolate room. Lex… or maybe his hallucination had come in and told her a new drug was being created for her. He'd given her one of the newest trials, and then she'd passed out. She blinked to herself, clearing the cobwebs from her vision. She felt sick instantly as she tried to stand.<p>

"It might be a bit foggy I'm told." Chloe looked up to Lex's voice, but he was wobbling in her eyes, she couldn't focus on him, so she chose the floor instead. The floor she knew was real, Lex could still be another hallucination. But, there was a pain in her arm that disagreed. "We'll start off with a few tests." he announced, drawing her attention back. "Who was your last hallucination about?"

"Oliver Queen." she spoke without hesitation, the drug drawing the words from her, making her feel seasick. She pawed out a hand testily to the wall, but she couldn't find the strength to pull her upwards.

"Have you had sex with Green Arrow?"

"Yes." The words tumbled from her lips before she could even think her answer. But something clicked inside her mind as she spoke. Her mind had no line between Oliver and Arrow anymore, Arrow, she had not slept with… Oliver, she had.

There was a silence and Chloe didn't look up to see the jealousy in Lex's eyes.

"Have you slept with Oliver Queen?"

"Yes." Again it slipped free without a second of hesitation, but she felt her stomach swirl. The way it did after far too many mixed drinks of alcohol. She was going to be sick, she could feel it.

"Do you know who Green Arrow is?"

"Yes." She could feel Lex getting giddy with the possibility. She felt the air change and he drew closer, the question of dire importance to him falling from his stiff lips.

"Who is Green Arrow?"

"O-" and Chloe hunched over, throwing up the water and crackers that had been keeping her alive. Her eyes streamed, her throat ached, the smell hit her nostrils and a second wave of sickness blew through her. She heard the door open faintly, heard it slam close, but she was throwing up again before she could focus.

* * *

><p>"You said <em>mild<em> sickness!" Lex growled after making a grand entrance to the science lab and knocking over several sterilized beakers. The lab technicians all turned in alarm. He drew the eyes of every man in there, except the one he wanted.

"I said it wasn't done yet. You can't rush science." the research leader cockily replied without taking his eyes from the microscope. It offended Lex greatly, but he knew his presence was far too valuable for Lex to punish him.

"How soon before I will get every answer I want from her?" Lex demanded, his eyes sharp and angry as he pulled the scientist from his work. He looked as irritated as Lex felt.

"Three weeks." he grunted out. "Like I said before."

"Three weeks to remove a simple sickness?" Lex argued, he was so close to his answer. "You told me you were the brightest in yo-"

"I am." he spat. "Maybe you paid someone else to pass your biology exams, but the human body is a complex system, the mind even more so. It's not a case of removing a chemical and stopping sickness, it's a minefield of impossible connections." Lex was initially planning to threaten the man back into fearful submission, but there was something in the way he spoke that demanded recognition. So Lex pushed down his wants and rose an eyebrow to the harsh words spilling from his lopsided mouth. "If you want to take over, please go ahead. But if you want this done right, you'll give me three weeks like I originally proposed!" the scientist snapped, little fear of Lex. He was necessary to Lex's perverse scientific nature.

"Three weeks to the hour, not a second later." Lex finally spoke, the last word his to own. "Trust me when I say you'll regret it if it doesn't work perfectly." And he swept out the doors as fast as he'd come, charging down the corridors, workers throwing themselves out of his way in fear. Fear he loved, he could work with, scientist like him though… they rattled him far too much. As soon as he'd finished the drugs, his career and life would be over.

But three weeks…

Lex had calmed by the time he met Chloe's security feed again, she'd been cleaned up and in a new cell, but she clutched her stomach, the sickness still heavy.

"Increase MBN for 359." he instructed.

"Sir, she's close to the limit."

"Increase it."

"Sir." The request was met with guilty acceptance and the guard left the room. Sadly MBN had a maximum dose, where the body shut down and massive organ failure ensued. Chloe would be pushed up to, but never over that limit. Lex sighed to himself, he didn't know if he could wait three weeks listening to her hallucinate Oliver Queen constantly.

* * *

><p>Oliver had just got back in from Queen Industries, business had been a bitch today, usually she ran smooth. But today… maybe investors were just wound up because of Lex's crisis with workers and feared the same. Plus, Oliver hadn't been very hands-on recently, they'd been getting edgy.<p>

So he took himself a beer from the fridge, jumped in the shower and was currently lounging in his pyjama pants before taking Green Arrow out again. She'd come back, he reassured himself, she'd see he hadn't used the drive. She'd know, and she'd know exactly where to find him.

If he was honest, he was doing this more for himself than the reasons he lied to himself with. Chloe could find him even if he went into hiding. But it was a way of coping with his pain and he wasn't too big of a man to lie to himself about that either.

Oliver stretched out an arm, collecting the tv remote from the coffee table to change the channel. Some old western had just finished and he needed something to take his mind from his stress before he went out again.

In all honesty, he was knackered. Exhausted entirely. But… the city needed him, and he needed his city.

He sighed and pulled the remote closer with his fingers, which was exactly how he was when he heard his elevator click into life with the correct input code. He turned slowly, wondering who would be visiting. His team were all on personal days tonight. Probably Dinah… if her date had gone wrong, she'd come to take it out on him for setting her up with Bruce. Not that he did anything, but Dinah didn't see logic well.

But out stepped long legs and blonde hair belonging to Lois Lane.

"Lois?" he asked for confirmation, wondering what the hell she was doing in his apartment. Was Clark missing across the world again? She stood with her heels holding her high, offering him a silent and stiff nod. "What's wrong?" he then followed with, seeing her expression and reddened eyes. She'd been crying. Oliver stumbled to his feet, crossing over to her. Lois took two steps, closing the distance and then her fist cracked into his jaw, whipping his head with the force and taking his body with it for a second stumble. "Ow. Wow. Okay… oww." Oliver voiced, stepping further back from her, not expecting the action, nor how much it hurt. He rubbed a hand against his jaw, wondering where she got that serious punch from.

"You bastard!" she hissed. "You knew." And the tears were coming right back to her again, but anger remained dominant.

"Little more Lo." he implored, stepping further from her path. And then she flew her hand into her bag, returned and tossed the paper at his head. He caught it from an accurate trajectory and opened it curiously. There facing him was the nightmare he hated to see.

Chloe, outside of the restaurant the night she was 'stood up'.

"She's my cousin Oliver! You knew how much losing her hurt me!" They'd had a brief fling and Lois had mentioned it, but he'd never seen a picture. Maybe if he had, his relationship with Chloe would have been different. But… would it have been better? "All this time, I thought she was dead, and you've been dating her!" Oliver saw the anger flaring, burning at its brightest, and he knew Lois well enough to know what came next. Violence, then tears. "You've let me think she's been fucking dead… and… and you've been fucking fucking her." She stormed forward and Oliver stayed where he was, letting her throw weaker and weaker punches to him. "You've been fucking her." she cried, then crashed against him, the tears completely overtaking her. "She's my cousin." Lois wept. "My cousin." she repeated against his bare chest, clinging to him while he wrapped his arms around her, saying nothing. "She's alive." Lois raked out between shallow quick breaths.

"Lois." Oliver started, not at all prepared for this. Both Clark and he knew it would have come out at some point, but they had always wanted it to be when Chloe was free, when she wouldn't leave again. Oliver felt the way she shivered, raked with sadness and hate, he couldn't lie to her. "Lex has something over her." he began. "And she's left to protect herself."

"Left?" Lois looked up, her tear stained cheeks and red eyes pleading for her to appear instantly.

"I don't know where she is anymore." he spoke softly. "But I'm looking."

"Looking?" she repeated. "You're looking?!" she snapped, the anger winning back again. "You stood her up, she's probably running from _you_!"

"Loi-"

"I can't believe she was here and you fucked it all up, and now she's gone! How could you do this?!" she wailed and was back against him crying her eyes out.

The elevator kicked up to life and Oliver raised his eyes to it, still holding Lois. He'd bet his life it wouldn't be Chloe on the other side, because that would just be too easy for him. But when the doors opened, it was some form of help. There was Clark, worried to death about Lois taking off.

"Lois."

"Cla-" but her soft greeting faded before it could begin and she pushed away from Oliver to continue her previous argument with Clark, which was clearly the exact same as the one with Oliver. "I don't want to even see you! I can't believe you let me think she was dead!" she hissed, storming back over to lay her next wave of anger into Clark. He let her for a few punches. But the difference between Oliver and Clark was that Oliver would feel pain and that would give Lois the guilt to let the sadness win back over. But… with Clark, as he stood there taking her punches like they meant nothing, it just made her madder. "You LIED to me! You let me think she was DEAD!" She made to lay a punch to him jaw, creating a satisfying bruise much like the one Oliver would wake with, but Clark caught her fist before it could hit, he held her hands down with a strength that couldn't be fought and watched as Lois struggled. But Oliver saw there was no joy in winning for him. He was guilt ridden, he was as upset as Lois was, and Oliver felt the same guilt slam into him. Not only had he hurt Lois… but he'd hurt her relationship with Clark as well. He felt useless.

"Lois, plea-"

"No!" she cried, the tears restarting at her failed efforts to hurt him like he'd hurt her. "No! You let me think…" she started to repeat again, the tears consuming her vocal chords. "You let him…" and then she just stopped fighting and accepted the hug Clark was wanting for and cried against him.

Oliver sat himself back into the sofa's cushioning comfort, head in his hands. He'd ruined lives, not saved them.

"Oliver?" Clark's voice came to his ears and he finally picked back up his head to find Clark's curious gaze, Lois heading to his bathroom to clean her face from the tear marks and smudged mascara. He'd missed a few minutes of reality it seemed. "I'm sorry. I didn't know where she was going." Clark apologised, his eyes torn with the hurt of his actions.

"No. I'm sorry you were involved in all this." Oliver corrected.

"I told Lois you didn't know until a few weeks ago who she was. But… Lois is Lois." Yeah… she was, and Lois didn't do emotions very well.

"I deserved it I guess."

Clark disagreed, but there was something in Oliver's voice that said don't bother disagreeing, so he said nothing to fight him.

"I figured you should probably fill in a few gaps for her though." And Clark nervously looked at his fingers as he spoke. "She's not too happy with me…"

"I'll talk to her."

"When's the last time you slept?" Clark suddenly changed the conversation, seeing the dark circles under Oliver's eyes.

"I'll take tonight off." Oliver agreed without Clark having to ask. He was tired, he was emotionally exhausted and Lois still needed her thousand questions answering.

"I have to get back… my mom doesn't know what happened…" And there was the heavy emotional burden sinking onto Clark's shoulder again.

"Go. I'll stay with her tonight." And like that Oliver ended up with a crying girlfriend that was not his own on his sofa demanding answers to every question, and he gave. There wasn't a lot Lois didn't know about him, so she took it easily. But… somethings… they were difficult for her and she wept. Oliver had initially intended to spare her the harsher of truths, but as she came back from the bathroom, her big eyes so desperate for answers after so many years, Oliver couldn't not tell her. Everything came out, the Lionel, the Lex, the scars, the experiments.

* * *

><p>It was the same as usual, he came through the solidly locked door and he sat at the end of the cot bed she was given. The sickness was still passing through her from the trial drug, her leg was still painful, but walkable, her mind was slowly cracking piece by piece and today another piece slipped free. Snow was falling in the cage, the ceiling was nothing but clouds and there was Oliver sat in a suit at the edge of her bed a picture of ease.<p>

"You said you wouldn't come again." Chloe spoke, deflated and saddened. But Oliver didn't reply, just met her eyes. "I told you, it's too hard to see you here." she continued. Again, just his eyes spoke. They spoke the volumes of which he'd missed her, they echoed the love he felt in his heart… and yet, they were all a hallucination from her mind. "Please go away."

"I can't." he finally whispered. He sounded broken.

"What happened?" she suddenly begged and in her mind she watched fresh blood trickle down from his forehead. "You're hurt." She reached out, but stopped… as much as she might wish he wasn't there, she wasn't strong enough to force him to leave yet by trying to touch him. "Was it Lex?"

"No. Lex hasn't hurt me." And Chloe blinked to find the cut heal in superfast time, but instead, the white of his shirt bled red, growing further out.

"Oliver… your shirt."

"Make it stop." he breathed, hand over his heart.

"He hurt you." she amended his earlier statement.

"No. Lex hasn't hurt me." he repeated and Chloe felt the pain tug at her as well.

"Was it… was it me?" she whispered. "Did I hurt you?"

"You left me." he answered, his eyes weak, but the colours vivid. "I loved you."

"Don't say that. Please."

"It's true."

"No. It's not. We were company and that's it."

"Why do you keep lying? You love me."

"Go away." And she tightened her eyes shut.

"Chloe, we're meant to be. We're supposed to be!" he suddenly exclaimed scaring her with the intensity. "Chloe look at me! Look at the pain you cause me!" and he slapping his hand over his heart again. "Every night. Every day."

"You're a figment of my imagination." she told herself.

"But it doesn't make anything a lie." he challenged.

"Yes, it does!" she hissed right back. "I want you to love me, so you do."

"If you want me to love you, then you must love me also." he smugly replied, that smirk she loved tugging at his lips.

"…" she had nothing to battle his logic. "Please go away."

"Make me. If you're in control, make me." And anger burned through her, slapping her hand through his body. It went right through, it disturbed his image in her mind. But as she retrieved her hand back to herself, Oliver remained. That had never happened before.

"I've gone mad…" she whispered, running her fingers through him again, but still he didn't vanish. And she felt the tears run her cheeks.

"I love you Chloe." Oliver hummed to her, soft and sweet.

"No. You don't." she cried, but it was without vindication.

"Say you love me. Say it. I promise you'll feel better." And the promise was something her mind clung onto. She wanted to see better, she wanted him to stay… and she wanted to love him.

"I love you Oliver." It was a whisper, intended to be sarcastic at the very least. But it came out honest, and she felt a warmth inside her. She felt… brighter, healthier and whole again. "I love you." she repeated, this time with more energy, with belief, with conviction. "I love you Oliver!" she suddenly exclaimed, loud into the empty cell.

Lex's lips turned to a thin line, watching the feed of her cell. Oliver. Queen… Queen had won _his_ prize. Here she was, at the last edge of sanity, and all she wanted was Oliver Queen. She hadn't even called out for Lex, not even for a reprieve from the pain of the drug. She just wanted _him_. He wouldn't listen to this for another three weeks. He refused to.

"Shut her down." he spoke to the security officer Mr Keith in charge of Chloe.

"Sir? We are still running trials with her meteor powers." he highlighted, but Lex didn't care about her healing abilities right now. He cared about his own sanity, which would surely snap if he had to hear her cry out _his_ name again.

"They'll resume at a later date. Hibernate her."

The storage cells were intended for one purpose alone, storing meteor freaks that for some reason were a problem awake. 109 was in the cell opposite Chloe right now, he was resistant to the shocks and could not be controlled, so until the scientists found a way to contain him, he was silenced, removed and stored permanently asleep until the right time. Lex had always been prepared for the same event for Chloe, now, it was coming to pass.

Lex left after Adrian Keith, whilst Keith would be comatosing Chloe, he was back down to the lab. He had another demand to make. When she gave up her knowledge of the vigilante squad, she would give up her free will as well. She would obey him once again.

And _Oliver_ would be the last thing on her mind. She'd be loyal to him and him alone. Her love for Oliver would be her love for him, and that would be all she knew.

"I told you, three weeks." The chief scientists sneered as Lex barged his way in, but Lex was in no mood for verbal sparring.

"You'll perfect the obedience drug as well."

"Already on a pet project right now. Come back l-" his dismissal didn't work for Lex and instead Lex grabbed his arm, flung him down and pinned him to the work table while the other scientists gawked, half in fear, half in amusement for their boss' pain.

"You're going to finish both drugs in three weeks."

"I need mor-" but Lex's arm crushed against his trachea, the pressure cutting off the words.

"You need more workers, fine. You need more chemicals, fine. You need more test subjects; as many as you like. You can have anything necessary, except more time." Lex insisted. "Three weeks."

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>Have a good week, thanks for reading.<br>Xx


	43. Xmas Miracle

Remember how I said it would finish around 44... maybe that was a tad underestimated. It should end around 46... yes, I think 46...  
>I have a problem with being concise...<p>

Thank you for reviewing & reading, much appreciated, hope you all have a wonderful Monday.

**Previously; **Chloe started hallucinating from the drug, seeing Oliver and Arrow, amongst others. Oliver is pushing himself as Green Arrow, trying to fill the void left by Chloe. Cue; Lois Lane, finding out the truth and confronting the men that lied to her. Chloe's hallucinations go a step too far as she confesses her love for Oliver Queen, Lex has no choice but to put her into a coma until the drugs (truth and obedience) will be finished... in three weeks.

**Now;** Skip ahead two weeks, only one week until completion of the drugs and a happy happy Christmas for Lex.

Are you ready to watch Lex's demise? I know I am ;)  
>Xx<p>

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Forty-Three; Xmas Miracle<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>Sometimes, a little distance can just give you a new perspective.'<em> – Chloe Sullivan (Season Two, Episode Heat).

* * *

><p>Lex leaned against the desk, phone to his shoulder while the hold music played on. December first came tomorrow, and this year, he found the need to order Christmas spirit to the Luthor mansion. Which meant he was currently overseeing house staff decorate the parlour with a strict colour scheme of Green and Silver, the odd Red item, if necessary. As much as he held a dislike for the holiday, Lana was stricken ill with the Christmas bug yet again, even humming festive songs in his shower. When she agreed to stay at his for Christmas, he decided to go the extra mile to keep her happy. If that meant decorating, he could live with a few trimmings on his usual style.<p>

His true Christmas present was arriving in little more than a week. All drug progressions were going smoothly and soon he'd get the greatest gift ever for Christmas; Green Arrow's identity, his entire team's names and Chloe sitting by his side obedient until death.

"_Mr Luthor?"_ Came the voice back through the telephone.

"Yes." He didn't appreciate ever being on hold, much less when the music was singing of the joys of Christmas.

"_Your transaction has been successful and will be delivered as instructed." _

"Wonderful." But the word was without the happiness of usual patrons.

"_We hope you have a lovely Christmas, thank you for choosin-"_ Lex hung up before the speaker could say anymore. He hated shopping, so instead, he'd used an agency, given details about Lana's likes and dislikes, set a maximum to spend and put the work onto someone else's shoulders. By the start of the New Year, he could have Chloe on one arm, Lana on the other. The thought made him smile greatly.

"Mr Luthor." Lex cradled the phone and turned to the new presence occupying his personal space. "Where would you like the tree?"

"Main entrance." Lex just spoke and the man turned, having learnt from his last encounter with Lex regarding baubles that it was better to ascertain information from him in as few words as possible (whilst remaining respectful).

"Lex, this is… beyond my wildest dreams." And to this sweetly innocent voice he grew his smile. "How did you…?" Lana wandered into the wonderland, her eyes fixed above her, awed by the busy labourers hanging tinsel from the ceiling, decorating the parlour with dreams of a white Christmas. "It's beautiful…" Lex extended his arms, allowing her to cross into them. Lana danced across the floor, heels quick like a tap-dance, rushing to cage her emotions in his arms. It was more than she ever expected from Lex, she knew he wasn't a fan of Christmas, but for her… he'd set all that aside. "Oh Lex." And her lips fastened to his with more passion that he expected in the mere action of purchasing a lorry full of Christmas décor. "This is magical." she whispered, afraid of shattering the illusion and it all being gone.

"I know how much it means to you." he answered, holding her tight against him, though it was clear she had nowhere else she wanted to be.

Things were going well again.

Things were going very well.

Chloe was maintained, the drugs were both making steady progress and Lana was solidly by his side. Things were good.

"Oh, Lex," she started to gush out her praise. He changed the conversation swiftly.

"How is Isis?" Lana gave him her smile, her brown eyes soft and seeing past his change of topic, but she went along anyway. She'd been working all evening and he could see she was ready for sleep, and every night for the last week she'd come back to his bed. Tonight was no different.

"Actually really good, I think I might have found a business partner." she beamed to Lex, knowing this was an area they could easily talk about. But Lex was a little colder than expected.

"A new business partner? I thought you were coping well." Lana wasn't as business minded as he was, and she often asked him before doing anything, for a second opinion… but this… he'd heard nothing about this.

"I'm balancing," she qualified, "But it doesn't hurt to have a second pair of hands. Besides, he's an old friend Lex." _He?_ "And he's not inexperienced, he grew up in business too, like you." But as her hands rolled his shoulders in an absent minded caress, she felt tension.

"He? Do I know him?" he aimed for subtle, but Lana's eyes showed she caught a note of interest that wasn't entirely friendly.

"I presume so; Jason Teague."

"Teague?" he repeated, then softly let out a chuckle. "He's not a good business partner, Lana."

"He seems to know what he's doing." she disagreed softly, well aware this could turn into a fight within seconds.

"Please Lana, listen to me when I say you should not be working with Teague." Then something Lana had said struck a chord. "He's an old friend?" How did Lana know him?

Lex watched the colour fill her cheeks ever so slightly, he watched the way she flashed her eyes from his, the way she smiled a little too much. Maybe his obedience drug would have more than one intended user.

"We met abroad. I was in Paris over the summer." Lana spoke, as much to the truth as she could be without stirring Lex's temper.

"Paris." And Lex stood, taking Lana's hand and gently taking her from the parlour to the adjacent room, free from onlookers or staff. His piano sat in the corner, his fencing equipment in another. The room was originally a second office, now it was storage for whatever he didn't want in his main office.

Lana fell into step behind him, even let him settle her with a drink of soda water in the silence as he poured a finger of scotch.

"How long did you date him?" Lex asked, still facing the liquor, his expression tidied away from her eyes.

"Date him? I didn-"

"Don't lie to me Lana." Lex interrupted, but it was without anger somehow, just curiosity was evident. He turned back to her, seeing her cheeks heat further. She knew she was caught, but yet offered no words as his eyes met hers. "You met a man like Teague in a city renowned for romance and you didn't date him?" he challenged and Lana regretfully answered.

"It wasn't long. His mother didn't approve." No, she had broken them apart the second she knew. "But business with him is strictly a platonic relationship."

"Lana. I would much rather if you didn't work with him." Lex replied, ignoring the fact the break-up had not been of their own choosing and the passionate embers never died. Lana was _his._

"Lex, I can understand, but he has a lot of contacts that would really boost Isis's future work." Lana tried to barter, hurt by the harsh gaze he pinned her under.

"As do I."

"You have business contacts, Lex. Jason has a wider social range." she defended, but the second she did, she knew she had made a mistake. She stood and quickly made her way over to Lex. "Please, can we just drop this? It's almost December and I don't want to fight over Christmas." Her eyes were big and soulful, the kind a man easily caved to.

"We're not fighting, we're discussing." Lex disagreed, but let her settle her hands on him, let her plead at him, let her hand over her white flag guiltily. "You need more social contacts, you will get them. But without Teague."

"Thank you." Lana breathed and laid her lips to Lex's, she could taste the hard liquor as she deepened the kiss. There was one easy way of ensuring a man losing his argument and Lana had every intention of both using it, and working with Teague, so she pressed her chest against him, angled the kiss deeper and stroked his tongue with hers.

Lex smiled inside his mind, Lana was trying to distract him with sex. And he'd let her, but he was going to make a few phonecalls afterwards, and Teague would lose the idea of a business arrangement swiftly.

"Lana, we were discussing thi-" he began, knowing exactly how to play her womanly instincts. It wasn't the first time a woman had tried to distract him with sex. At least Chloe just skipped the effort of the performance.

"Lex, please… just… let me show you how _thankful_ I am." But Lex heard nothing but the anger beating inside his mind. Chloe.

Maybe it was just sinking in, maybe it was her recent hallucinations of Oliver-fucking-Queen, but Lex felt her betrayal as fresh as ever. In an ideal life she'd be here right now instead of Lana, she wouldn't be arguing, there wouldn't be stupid Christmas decorations and they'd be drinking to his father's speedy demise. But it was Lana in his hands, Lana who saw the world through happy eyes, Lana who understood nothing. Lana, so beautiful, so elegant. She fit him better than anyone… but her mind, it was too much he was finding. There wasn't enough darkness. But Chloe. She was perfect.

Lana felt a flush of alarm as Lex's hands tightened on her hips.

"Lex-" But her feet were lifted from the floor and she was spun against the wall, her legs hiked around his waist, another world glowing in his eyes. Then his lips were on her, his hands were gripped tight to her hips as a solid erection rubbed the seam of her jeans, digging into her sex. "Le-" His lips sealed around hers, silencing the voice that haunted him, the voice that wasn't Chloe.

Lana. "Wait, Lex. Stop, I-"

With ignorance to any words she spoke or fight she gave, he took Lana fast and hard on the cold floor, fighting for the tension to leave him. Chloe was in love with another, Lana wouldn't have that option. She was_** his**_.

* * *

><p>"Merry December First!" Bart hollered, entering watchtower floor with arms open.<p>

Dinah rolled her eyes and smiled, she'd just come back from a date with Bruce earlier than night and was on cloud nine, not even Bart could bring her down and that was probably a good thing for him. Now, she was sitting with files on her lap in her comfiest and warmest clothing whilst Oliver fiddled with the boiler.

AC glanced up to the clock, it had just ticked by midnight; it was truly December now. "Wow, it's colder than Lapland here, you breeding penguins?" Bart continued, as jolly as ever. There are just some people who come into their element as Christmas draws closer, Bart was one of them. He didn't even mind xmas shopping, he revelled in decorating the tree and hanging tinsel from every doorway. He was like a faster, more annoying version of a child. But, he was the eggnog to every adult's dullest day and he brought them into their own spirits too.

"Oliver said it's just the water pressure, he'll have it on soon." AC replied. If he didn't, Dinah would be killing him and setting fire to his carcass, as her latest threat promised. She was _not_ a fan of the cold.

"Ah, cool. What's the change of venue then? Captain Leather forget to hide his porn stash." Bart joked, jumping and landing himself on the sofa beside Dinah.

"Hilarious." Came Oliver's voice in deadpan, drawing smiles from the gang. "Heating's fixed." he informed and took his own seat before addressing the questions as well. "Vic found live updating on the files." Vic was currently sat at the computer turning on said sharing software. "Just an extra precaution in case the network finds bugs. Better they hack here than find a signal back to my apartment." Yeah, it made sense.

"What's on the updates?" Bart asked again. He had the energy to ask all the questions anyone ever had, but not always the energy to listen and comprehend the answers.

"Don't know until we get them. But it's whatever has been updated on Lex's computers since we got this drive." Victor answered, swinging the swivel chair to face the audience as the update synced in. "Shouldn't take long. I'll browse over the new files." he allocated himself, and as usual, the rest of the team fell into their own call of work.

"Deceased." Dinah held up the file she was currently reading pulled from the pile of all deceased meteor freaks from Lex's experiments.

"Active trials." AC countered, his own pile by the side of him.

"Guess I'm on research projects again." Oliver nominated, Bart didn't have the energy to read them; he skipped half the technical words and then said it was all incomprehensible jibberish.

"Archived inmates." Bart finished, but before resuming on his own pile, he commandeered the spare laptop that was on beside Victor and started clicking away. Dinah's curious eyes followed his movement while the others shrugged it off as usual Bart behaviour.

"What are you doing?" she finally asked after a few seconds too long for a game of solitaire as he usually liked during procrastination.

"Wait. Wait." he insisted, flashing her a sneaky grin.

"This better not be another one of those funny youtube videos that you've found." she threatened, ready to pounce.

"Oh com'on D, that cat was killer." AC argued, joining their conversation.

"The internet must be 20% cat videos by now." Victor mumbled disapprovingly. There were so much better things you can do with the internet, did you really need to share clips of cats falling off of sofas? Although… he had to admit, that last video Bart found was hilarious.

"Better." Bart promised, then tapped once more before turning back with a proud smile. Over the speaker system came the jingle of old Christmas songs.

"It's not even Decemb-" Oliver started, then paused as Dinah flipped her finger to the clock, her eyes back down on the pages she was reading.

"Merry December First, Scrooge." she teased, without lifting her eyes.

"I'm not a scroo-"

"You're rich, and you've working your 'business partners' into the night." Dinah offered, still focussed on the reading. Subject 189 was in her hands, a teenage boy from Belle Reve who could see into alternate dimensions. She hadn't cheated and flipped to the end of the pages like she usually did with books, but she was relatively sure this wasn't an accidental death that earned him a place in the deceased pile.

"And your Christmas gifts will reflect the good work." he promised with a laugh. "I don't mind Christmas… on Christmas _day_. But it's literally just turned December."

"Just accept it Ollie." AC advised, knowing it was going to be forced down his throat anyway.

"Oh Com'on, Christmas is wonderful. Don't you believe in a Christmas miracle?! This could be the day of our breakthrough!" Bart exclaimed filled with joy.

"You need to be doing work for that to happen." Oliver offered and Bart responded with a smile and flopping into his claimed chair with the reports, silencing his lips. Victor chuckled quietly to himself.

It was times like Christmas he missed family and friends he used to have. But being around these guys… they were more than enough for him. They were exactly what Christmas was all about; the love, the crazy, the too much and the good banter. He smiled, opening one of the new files as the rest synced to the computer.

Subject 359 was the latest addition to the patient folders. Victor narrowed his eyes at the folder and flipped it open, finding the initial report already downloaded.

"Latest addition is 359." Victor read aloud. "Female, empathetic healing powers."

"So, only 358 left to find." Bart summed.

"Not exactly, we saved a few." Dinah interjected, setting down the file.

Victor was going to interject his own figure, but something caught his eye. This had been continuously updated day by day for the last few weeks.

"He was with 359 last night." Victor mumbled to himself while the kids argued on. On a hunch, he pulled up a second screen.

"So, what, 300ish in 33.1?" Bart guessed.

"Not exactly. There's the deceased." Oliver added, nodding to Dinah's pile. "Probably a good 100 six feet under."

"So… what are we talking? He's keeping 200 people in 33.1?" Dinah turned to Victor, but he was too busy to reply, so she furthered her point. "We all saw the floor plans, there's no way that could hold 200 people _and_ all these exam and research rooms he has listed."

"When's the last time that was updated though?" Oliver asked aloud, AC was quick to reply, already searching for the files as soon as Dinah spoke about them.

"Two years ago." he scoffed. "The entire thing must be updated. He's built upon it."

"Well, where are the building plans?" Bart wondered.

"Probably stopped documenting." Dinah was the only one to offer an explanation, but it seemed the only possible way for it to make sense.

"Still doesn't give us any clue as to where it is though." AC sadly reminded them.

"It's gotta be huge… no way we could miss that." Dinah argued, and turned to Victor who still had offered nothing to the conversation. "Hey!" she called, but he didn't turn. "Nothing to add?" She sat up from her lounge, placing the folder back onto the pile. "No smart ass remark?" But the silence from him was unusual, even when baited. "Earth to V-man!" she called, rolling her eyes. The man had a love affair with computers too strong to be healthy.

"Shh." he hissed and all eyes turned, ready for Dinah's temper tantrum.

"Excuse me? What the hell is your problem?!" she snapped. Bart, Oliver and AC all shared a knowing look, locating the nearest exit with their eyes.

"Dinah, give it a rest, alright? I think…" Victor tried again, matching up another time slot from the update to the file against the GPS in Lex's car. Everytime he had personally visited Subject 359, his GPS was… "Holy Moses…" Victor spoke aloud. "Holy Moses on a tricycle." Dinah rose an eyebrow, the man was insane. He never had mastered the concept of swearing. "It's so fucking obvious!" Oliver stood, it wasn't often Victor ever swore. This was big. "It's Luthorcorp." And Victor let off a laugh. It was relief, success and stupidity all wrapped into one short burst of laughter. "I can't believe this."

"What is it?" Oliver tentatively asked, prepared for either madness or genius. It was alarming how close those two were.

"33.1!" Victor spun on his chair, finger extended behind him to the screen. "They're under Luthorcorp."

"No… he…" Dinah started to protest and call him insane, but things were starting to make sense for her too. All the time Lex spent there, the fact he hadn't returned to any other facilities. "But… it's too public. It's the middle of the damn city."

"No. The fertilizer plant in Smallville." Victor corrected. "He's not going there daily for the employee's."

"You're kidding me?" Oliver whispered, dumbstruck.

"It's underground." Victor explained. "All he needs is a back entrance, a private elevator and that's it. He can make all the changes he wants, he wouldn't bother with plans and he's not suspicious for going there all the time."

"Under Luthorcorp property?" Oliver repeated. "Man's gotta be insane to hide his dirty laundry with his business."

"Like Queen Industries is clean." Dinah jabbed. "You've got damn arrows hidden in the pipes for god's sake." Oliver chose to ignore that fact.

"What are we waiting for?!" Bart asked after a second of silence. "Let's go!"

"We need a plan, we can't just go in there blind." Victor reminded them, always the voice of reason.

"And I think I have one." AC spoke up, his eyes on the floor plan of 33.1 from the drive. "Call Clark, we might need him."

* * *

><p>"<em>Lana? It's half two…"<em> Jason sounded torn between angry, confused and worried. _"You okay?"_

"I didn't know who else to call. I'm sorry." Lana sobbed, wiping away the tears as she drove.

"_Woah, wait, what's happening?"_

"What you said… were you serious?"

"_What?"_ And then there was a second of silence where his brain processed her words. _"Yeah. We can leave right now."_ he repeated the same thing he'd said that morning, he wanted to take her away, to leave. Tell no-one and finish what they started in Paris. Lex wasn't a good man, she shouldn't be with him. She'd find out the truth when it was too late. So, what had happened? Was it too late? What had Lex done? _"What did he do Lana?"_

"Don't." she breathed. "Please don't ever ask. Just… let's leave. Never come back."

"_Where are you?"_

"Driving to you, I'm already packed."

"_I'll be ready in 10 minutes."_ Jason tossed back the covers, slammed a hand to the light and started packing a bag of essentials.

* * *

><p>"It's fucking freezing." Dinah cursed under her breath. Smallville was covered in a blanket of snow that wasn't getting any thinner, especially not with the way the snow was currently falling. Metropolis usually started winter earlier than other places, but this year, Dinah would bet money the early snowfall all over the country was meteor power related.<p>

"Speaking as someone not wearing fishnet tights, I'm fine." AC chuckled.

"Can it, fish paste!" Dinah snapped. She wasn't used to being a vigilante in the winter months, she usually put her feet up and left it to the boys. But this was the big one. It was the finale and she wouldn't miss it for the world. Maybe she should have invested in a winter costume, but at least she had the black snow boots up to her knees which were working for her.

"Alright, we are camera and alarm clear." Victor informed, looking up from the device. They moved ahead swiftly, all funnelling behind Clark who was the wrecking ball to the Luthor freak factory. With nothing more than a tug, he opened the code protected back door and stepped out of the night snowfall and into clinical corridors.

They paused past the first hurdle and met their first fork in the road.

AC had laid out a solid plan from what blueprints and shipping records he could find. It was all underground, based around two elevators and one central staircase. The original blueprints were the top four levels. The very top, and currently directly beneath their feet was the command centre, everything went through it. Beneath that was research labs, and under that began the cells, starting with one referred to in recent documents as storage, then beneath came the active trial candidates, all the way down to the bottom.

There was a clear plan, first; Victor needed to take over the central command where he'd be stationed, the two elevators would then be disconnected, forcing all movement to be in the stairwell. Second, each floor had a left and right wing, Arrow, AC, Bart and Dinah would take the floors to the very bottom, as far as they could, then, work from the bottom up, releasing everyone they found to flood the upper channels, help and/or flee. AC and Arrow would always take the left, Bart and Dinah always the right side. Clark would be the focal point playing crowd control in the stairs, disabling the scientists and guards with zipties and helping the meteor infected to freedom. All, overseen by Victor.

"This is it." AC muttered to himself more than anyone else, but everyone heard and it echoed inside them. This was the finale, the final curtain. The last block in the Luthor castle. Oliver felt nerves hit him unlike any other. Part of him wondered what would come next; evil never slept and as soon as Lex was down… would another rise up?

Would Chloe come back after Lex was gone? He'd do his best to keep her out of his trial, but it couldn't be promised. Chloe…

He'd called Tess the instant the plan formed, with this being the big leagues she might be needed to provide alibi's for their identities if one was injured. She had yelled at him for calling at 4am, but as soon as she found out the reason, she was up and active, wanting to help in any way she could. She was currently working on Lex's trail for them anyway, sorting out the best isolated evidence from the flashdrive they'd shared.

"See you on the other side." Dinah whispered and with a nod to Bart, they took themselves down the passage and into the chambers of the elevator to the first level of 33.1. Oliver, AC, Vic and Clark stepped forward after them. Dinah and Bart would take the first motions, silent as the grave and moving through the level to subdue anyone capable of raising alarm.

10 minutes later, Arrow, AC and Clark were on the top steps of the level, Dinah and Bart stepping a floor below them after incinerating the research and locking all the scientists in an exam room.

"_Ready when you are."_ Came over all headsets. Victor was their eye in the sky, as much as he hated a stationary job, he was overlooking the entire progress in the command centre with the limp life forms of guards tied in a corner behind him. Oliver's tranquilizer arrows had come into great use.

"We're starting." Arrow's voice replied, the voice distorter heard for the entire team on the stairs. And then the descent began. Down, down and down they went, Clark still on the top steps, the last barrier before the exit. He was acting as a security gate, prepared for company, friend or foe.

Dinah and Bart took the bottom floor swiftly, Bart speeding to the end, Dinah at the start and each reading aloud the cell numbers to Victor. The locking system was all verbal codes, usually numbers, all controlled from above. Victor was a busy man instantly, inputting unlock codes for all four of the team members below.

But what lie before them cell after cell were broken forms of humans, some incapable of walking, some; talking. Either way, Dinah and Bart offered their shoulder, calling to boyscout to pick up the limp and lame in the stairwell.

The bottom two floors went well, until victims started appearing with metal collars around their necks, refusing to leave their cells for anyone in case they were electrocuted.

AC looked down to the controls he'd collected from the few guards they'd intercepted and disabled, one who was currently being ziptied by Arrow before shoved into the stairwell.

"Wait." AC called and approached the guard. "Who has the key?"

As luck would have it, the guard had enough fear in his eyes to answer swift and honest the first time around.

"Lex. He's the only one."

"Any other way to get them off?" Arrow added, noting the problem at hand.

"No. I swear. Only the key."

"We could pry it off…" AC offered aloud.

"It shocks them." The guard answered without being asked. "Tamper proof." And he had the nerve to shrug. Arrow threw his fist into the guard for the mere point that he had annoyed him. But then came another voice, a small quiet one.

"I know how you can get them off." AC and Arrow turned to the voice, a woman's face pressed to the bars, a similar collar around her neck. No, not a woman, a teenager. She looked oddly familiar to Oliver, her dirty blonde hair and doe eyes catching on his memories, "Hi." she spoke again, appearing to have no concern for her situation.

"How?" Arrow asked gruffly, still unable to place her as AC called the code to unlock her and the others.

"My boyfriend. He can manipulate materials into shapes." she explained, and the door to her cell unlocked after a seconds pause. The door opened and she stepped out and Oliver recalled the girl. She was one of the criminals he'd thrown to the cops. She had been with her boyfriend breaking into the corner shops. How did she end up here? "Eric!" she suddenly called, shocking him as she ran down the corridor ahead of them.

"Beth?!" a voice replied and she charged for it, bare feet thundering on the dirty floors.

"Eric!" Then she turned back. "Unlock him." Arrow went to her while AC worked on the other doors.

"How did you end up here?" Arrow asked them, watching the recognition hit both teens. "122AIN" he read from the cell to Victor and seconds later the door clicked open. The cells were numbered in strange codes, and there was no bank of codes for Victor to open all with, so the process would have to be slow and personal.

"You don't know?" Eric questioned, stepping out and wrapping his arms around his girl quickly. It tugged at Oliver's heart some, but he kept his form.

"No."

"As soon as we hit the police cells and they figured Eric had powers, they transferred both of us here." Beth explained.

"You're not meteor infected?" Arrow questioned her. Was it his fault they were here? He turned them in, and now they were Lex's rats. It was his fault… he summed silently. He put them in here.

But how could he have known the cops were corrupt? How could he…

But how many others were in here because of him?

How many was he responsible for?

"No… but they didn't know that until I was here." she answered, then her eyes skated over him. "Got anything metal? He works best with metal." But Eric was already plucking a miniature arrow from Oliver's quiver and wrapping both his hands over it. Beth spun herself to him, lifting her hair from the back and letting him examine the shape. They knew each other well… maybe the meteor freak relationships didn't need any help at all. If these two could see past it… couldn't anyone?

Was it truly his fault?

"Relax, you didn't know." Eric spoke, but Oliver was still spiralling in his guilt. He was the reason they were in here.

How was he supposed to get over that?

AC was still reading codes from the doors, closing in with a crowd of collared inmates hoping to be free of their electric shocks.

"Ow!" he heard from Beth and turned back quickly. But there she was, dropping the open collar to the ground. A ruckus rose, all looking for the same freedom from him.

"Make another." Oliver just instructed numbly, passing across another identical arrow as Beth used the same key on Eric. But he took the arrow and made a second.

"_Anybody got an escape for the collars?"_ Dinah's voice called out to the earpiece.

"Sending a key to you now." Arrow answered, focussing back on the task, taking the new key from the hands of its maker. A second later, a small electric shock ran through him before the collar dropped. "It might shock before it comes off." Oliver added to Dinah without emotion.

"Clean and clear." AC's voice came and Oliver snapped himself back to rights. Now was the mission, later was for making amends. But… the guilt wouldn't let go of his mind. How many more would he recognise? How many more would he be responsible for?

They followed them back to the stairwell, encouraging them up and out as they took the next level up and handed the second key to Bart in a quick flash of movement.

* * *

><p>Dinah grinned as Bart returned, key in hand to drop the collars from those who were freed.<p>

"You're slacking speedo." she teased. They'd started a game of freeing more than the other. Dinah had more doors opened and thus was winning as she called out another to Victor.

"Give me time." he just replied, smug as ever. "Alright, once the collars gone, up the stairs and continue up until you're out and free." he instructed, taking charge of the fearing meteor enhanced prisoners while Dinah freed more locks.

"_Gunna get busy guys, guard communications have your positions." _Victor's voice came across all headsets again. _"Boyscout, you'll need to keep an eye on the freed, they could cross paths."_

Dinah exchanged a glance to Bart, taking a throwing knife from her pocket to her hand as she pulled open the next door, before turning her eyes to the doors. Bart shuffled them behind Dinah's stance, fully prepared for a fight. It came swift, a wave of guards risking leaving their posts to take them down. Dinah put a knife in one as soon as he came around the doors, he fell like a sack of potatoes, knocking into the second who failed in withdrawing his gun. Dinah grinned, he should have already had his gun drawn, idiot. Bart turned back, collars on the floor around him, the key in his pocket before he sped into the fight, yanking the gun from the closest man and jabbing an elbow to the back of his neck before he even knew he was there. He joined the next man on the floor as Dinah's knives came flying again.

Like the great team they were, they took down the first wave with ease, turning back only to find all the freed inmates looking at them with different degrees of terror.

"Up the stairs." Dinah sighed, not used to being looked at appalled. When they didn't move, she realised the pile of bodies in the door and men in different stages of pain were blocking the exit. With an apologetic grin, she joined Bart moving aside the guards, ziptying hands and escorting ex-prisoners to the stairs to freedom. She met Clark on the other side of the door, with two sets of guards by his feet as well. They shared a smile and she moved up the next flight of stairs with Bart.

Exam rooms, nothing but exam rooms on their side for the next two levels. A level of strange rooms followed, this one looking like a break room for the guards, a shower room for… well, she presumed to prisoners since there was a lack of toilets in the cells, and then a lot of fancy viewing rooms. Dinah rolled her eyes, sent Bart for a sprint to look if anyone was in there and when it came back clear, they simply move up to the next level.

* * *

><p>Oliver turned to AC with a questioning glance, both already tired from the late hour and work, but with enough adrenaline to keep walking, but this floor wasn't filled with exam rooms like the right hand side. This floor had a pit in the middle, computers and screens all around it<p>

where scientists had fled up to Clark from. AC shrugged unknowing of what to expect but stepped closer with Arrow in behind. There looked to be an elevator shaft down into the pit, a set of spikes and barb decorating the rim. Whatever was locked in that pit was considered dangerous it seemed.

"Elevator's offline." AC informed Oliver from one of the controls. "Whoever did this wanted to make sure these weren't coming out."

Oliver turned back, seeing a red spray on the walls, block capitals spelling out 'F-Wing'. What was in F-Wing?

* * *

><p>Lex swept his hand through the book shelf, the books landing heavily on the floor, spines bending and pages bending. Next came the electronics, the speakers colliding with the stereo and dinting the hardwood as they dropped with gravity. He'd already bent the majority of the golf clubs on his furnishings, but the one he lifted from the destroyed sofa was straight. Well, it was until he took it to the mirror above the fireplace, shattering it into a thousand pieces before his feet. Next came the sole Christmas decoration he'd missed, hooked above the door was some mistletoe, he beat it until it bled sap.<p>

Scraps of tinsel and glitter rained slowly, but he stood, chest heaving, anger bright red flooding his veins.

Lana had left with _Teague._

His foot slammed into the door, bashing it against the wall and splintering the corner.

She'd ran away with fucking Teague!

A lifeless form of tinsel snaked around his foot in his pacing rage, he yanked it up, threw it on the raging fire with the others and listened to the crackle as it was consumed.

"Mr… Luthor?" a nervous voice asked.

"What?!" Lex almost screamed.

"33.1… it's been breached." The man stepped back, seeing the boil in Lex's blood in the way he tilted his head, asking for the repeat of the words to change as they rattled in his mind. "Green Arrow and team are responsible." he added, aiming to finish the entire report before Lex's temper boiled over. "They're releasing the infected. Levels 10 to 6 are freed."

"Blow it." Lex answered, much quieter than before.

"Sir?"

"Blow the entire plant."

"Sir, there are still researchers in there, it's security lock do-"

"Either give the order or lose your life." And Lex raised the golf club in his hands and there was no doubt he would fulfil his threat. The man pressed the communications button on his shoulder.

"Initiation procedure Mortem."

"_Confirmation code required."_

"Veritas." Lex simply spoke and listened to the repeat of the nervous wreck called a man before him.

"_Procedure initiated."_ Then there was a large noise over the coms, an explosion. Lex showed no remorse. _"Requesting aid, ther-"_

"Turn off all channels." Lex instructed and watched the guilt ridden man comply against his will as he pulled out his phone, trying to ignore the calls for aid before several taps had the mansion immersed in silence once more. "Good." And Lex drew his gun from the sideboard, putting a bullet between the eyes of the shattered man.

All evidence needed to be erased. And it all would be, along with Green Arrows team dispatched. Maybe he would never know the identity, but he couldn't care less. Maybe once dead Chloe would stop protecting him. She should be brought to him soon. All guards were instructed that she was first priority if there was ever an attack.

Lex gripped the golf club tighter, feeling only an inch of the tension leave him.

* * *

><p>"<em>Guys we got a problem. There's been an over-ride manual procedure." <em>Victor informed, his fingers tapping as he tried to stop it.

"_Doing what?"_ Dinah's voice asked, irritated.

"_Don't know. I'm trying to block it, but it's already been started. It's called Mortem…" _Oliver felt himself freeze, all those Latin lessons drawing a cold dread over him.

"Death." Oliver answered. "Slow it down, cancel it. Interrupt it. Whatever comes, it's not going to be pretty." Lex wouldn't set a kill order on the lab though… would he?

"_It's a chain reaction, I can only stop it pushing over anymore dominoes."_

"Then do it!" Arrow called. The pressure of time was crushing down on them now. He turned back to the pit, stepping to the edge to throw down the cable he and AC had cut from the computers.

The red eyes once again looked back up at him, but this time, instead of the silent questions, they spoke.

"Stop trying to save us." one man spoke. "We can't be freed, you have no idea what will happen."

"Look whatever he's done, we'll find some way to undo it." Oliver promised, not understanding any reason for them refusing freedom.

"You can't." the stranger spat and Oliver paused, noticing the flash in his eyes, the greater colour that looked like red headlights from where he stood.

"Stage one." Came over the PA system and Oliver hurried, throwing in the cable.

"Grab it." he urged, but they stood where they were.

"You're going to die." The red eyes spoke, but whether it was a warning or a threat was never found out.

The air broke in an explosion in the pit, the pressure throwing Oliver and AC back into the outer walls of the level, slamming them against the brick. A second bomb consumed the fire below and pushed another shockwave out.

The air smelled of burning flesh, rotten carcass and fried electrics.

The sound of shattering glass and crumbling fortification crushed eardrums.

The floor and walls shuddered with intense vibrations, but they held. The noise settled, the dust began to clear and AC blinked away the spots in his vision to push to his feet, stumbling to stand.

He glanced around.

Dead.

Every one of them in that pit lie dead.

"_What happened?"_ Victor's voice came far too loud and AC stumbled to be free of it before he realised it was in his ear. Victor first heard a cough before a reassurance.

"Explosion. I'm fine. Arrow's… I don't know." AC walked forward, wobbling with each step, but he started to clear. Oliver had been on the lip of the pit… had he survived?

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>Just to tease you further... i'm going to tell you there's a character death in the next chapter... I'm not telling you who.<br>Xx


	44. Cracks

I know, I know, technically it's Tuesday in England, but it's still Monday in the USA where the majority of my readers are from, so I'm escaping my lateness with a technicality. Haha.

I hope you have all had a wonderful week and that this week is fantastic for you too. Much love to all my readers/reviewers, you guys are awesome and I'm going to miss you so much when this finishes.  
>Xx<p>

**Previously; **December 1st hits our darling story (Yes; I am aware if I'd started posting earlier this would have been fit wonderfully for xmas time... but that's beside the point, haha), and Lex has decorated his mansion for Lana, then proceeded to sexually assault her. Lana ran away to Teague's arms (because Jensen Ackles is FIT!) and Lex is cracking. Bart brought in some festive cheer and a Christmas revelation miracle occured. 33.1 was found and the plan was set. In Lex's rage he pulls the plug on 33.1, starting a chain of explosions, the first destroying the subjects in F-wing... exactly where Arrow and AC happen to be at that moment. *Tension music*

* * *

><p><span>Chapter Forty-Four; Cracks<span>

* * *

><p>'<em>There's a darkness in me that I can't always control. I'm starting to thinks that's my curse, why every relationship I have ends badly.'<em> - Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Devoted)

* * *

><p>"Arrow?!" AC called to the room, coughing against the smoke and dust curling its way into his lungs. "God damn it." he muttered, throwing a section of barbed wire from his feet. What was left of the computers and overhead lights were snapping with abandoned charges of live electricity, desperate to make the connections. The area was barely lit; dull, red, warning lights imbedded in the walls met the dim glow of furthest overhead bulbs casting the room in half shadow. AC pressed his hands to his thighs, freeing an underwater glow stick from a pocket; he could barely see a metre in front of his feet.<p>

"_Gimme something, where's Arrow?"_ Victor's voice was still ringing in his ears pressing for the information he didn't have himself.

"_Com'on fishboy. Speak."_ Dinah was nervous, he could hear it in her voice, she'd probably be motionless on the stairs, staring at Bart or beating answers from him. Patience was not her strong suit.

He needed answers before he could dare to reply.

AC cracked the stick on his knee hard, a green hum of light cascading around him, growing brighter with each second.

The room was a haze of destruction. The walls were strong enough to avoid serious cracks, but the pit had crashed inwards, glass and concrete lay coated in blood and limbs. AC turned from the sight, pressing his eyes closed. If anyone was unlucky enough to be alive, they'd be in levels of pain beyond description.

His stomach swirled as he forced himself to look back. Had someone managed to reach the outside walls and protect against the blast? He hoped they had, but in the same thought, he prayed they hadn't… even protected from the inwards collapse, they wouldn't be a whole human anymore. Hesitant of the gore before him, he passed the light stick slowly over the pit, spotting nothing that moved or breathed. Nobody cried for help, nobody screamed in pain… dead. Probably for the greater good.

He turned back, taking a deep breath of dirty air and hunting for his partner. The ground was littered with building materials, he could be anywhere. AC forced his memory to the last place Arrow had been stood. He stepped himself over a few metres, raking his eyes over the carnage for anything green or human. The blast should have knocked him from the edge against the outer walls… he should be here.

"Arrow!" AC called out again, stepping further from the pit towards the walls. There were piles of concrete, glass and barbs, but where was Oliver? Inside his chest, a weight pressed on him… what if the silence echoed death?

No. Oliver was a survivor.

Besides, he had unfinished business with Lex, he wouldn't let himself die in Luthor's twisted prison.

He had to find him.

He raised the glow stick higher, illuminating the rubble and debris from the outer walls of the pit. It was a shocking sight, inspiring little hope and summoning the deepest fears.

Fingers!

AC rushed over, almost tripping another line of wire in his tunnel vision. As he closed in, the green leather peaked through the wreckage, a pained expression on an active set of features. He was alive.

A deep sigh exhaled from his lungs, his hands immediately seeking to discard the cement block partially crushing the archer's chest.

"Damn it man, can't you answer your own name?" AC hissed, adding humour only to lighten the severity of the grim situation. He had no idea of the damage his leader had sustained.

Oliver coughed a chuckle, the pain from the motion only there for seconds before the crushing weight was lifted and tossed aside. But the relief was momentary, as Oliver tried to stand, he felt the ribs of the barbed wiring scrape across his back, tearing the muscles. The blast must have shot some debris into him. AC took action, instantly pulling his friend from the barbs, tearing it from his back, but preventing any further damage as he moved. Better to hurt now than to paralyse later. At least, that was the idea, but the howl of torment leaving the man's dry throat speared AC with heavy guilt.

Arrow's curses rattled the hall, spiralling in a pit of feverous torment as he dropped to the floor again. AC repeated to himself silently that it was the best move rather than letting the barbs dig and tear more muscle… he did right… right?

"Anyone else… alive?" Oliver managed to speak, grinding his teeth to take back his grip on the agony. AC knelt down, a mirror of him, taking out the RL-65 they carried to fix his friend. "Don't." Oliver answered. Now was hardly the time to unleash any anger. He could continue with the mission, and his injuries were far better than ripping apart the next person that crossed him. "Not now anyway." he corrected, a lance of white hot pain burned through him, reminding him of his position and the state he would wake in tomorrow morning.

"Your back's a mess man…" AC offered with a grimace, refusing to look again at the bloody injury.

"Did anyone survive?" Oliver just asked. AC pushed back his guilt, sensing the friend wanted to move past it. He acquiesced, focussing on the mission.

"Doesn't look like it." AC admitted honestly, his gaze on the pit, the same as Oliver. "Whatever started it, it was designed to leave no survivors."

"_Boyscout, you gotta move."_ Victor's voice came over the headset, Oliver's voice over the com channel was the confirmation of life they needed to breathe and continue. But Vic found a more pressing need that a greeting; Lex's insane decisions. _"I've isolated all the other blasts, but there's one at the base foundations I couldn't remove."_

Oliver turned his face to AC, both listening. There were more explosions to come?

"_Give me the location. I'll handle it. Impulse, yo-"_

"_I got them. Go."_

Bart sped to take over the stairwell, aiding those freed to their salvation as Clark sped all the way to the cleared basement, scanning the walls for the explosive. Victor directed him the entire way. All AC and Oliver had for updated success was the sudden vibrations heading through the floor and then silence, without any follow up screaming.

"_We gotta get everyone out." _Victor's voice came again. _"The foundations look stable… but… we can't risk leaving any of the scientists in here for any length of time. The entire thing could collapse inwards."_

"_Got it." _

Clarks confirmation proved his success and place in the team, without him, they'd probably be buried beneath rubble. Just what ran through Lex's mind when he triggered this sadistic command? Saving himself, or destroying others?

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, pushing into standing, ignoring the white blots over his vision that reminded him of his pain. His focus came back to AC's concerned expression and the blood and scars across AC's arms. He wasn't the only one to take a beating in the explosion, and he, like his comrade, wouldn't let it stop him.

"Moving up?" Oliver proposed and with a nod, he followed AC out and up another level.

* * *

><p>Dinah cleared the next floor by herself, Bart still on the stairs while Clark tied and rescued anyone alive, good or bad.<p>

"_Sleeping quarters. Empty." _Arrow's voice once again came over the headset, she couldn't have been more relieved the second she'd heard his voice again. He'd had too many brushes with death recently. After tonight though, they could all rest easy, 33.1 would be over, and Lex would see his final days.

"_Moving up a floor."_ AC followed with and she heard them re-enter the main chamber. Dinah grinned cockily, she was still ahead of those assholes even without Bart helping her out.

She was just finishing the level, checking all cells were open and empty, all collars removed, when Clark zapped in.

"You clear?" he asked.

"One more to go then I'm finished." she informed, secretly proud of herself. It wasn't easy being female on a team of all guys, Victor never took it well that he usually had to be sat at a computer while 'boobs' got to play in the field with the big boys. His words, not hers. Granted, he wasn't in a good mood when he said it, neither was he entirely sober, but the point remained. She felt sorry for him a few times, being isolated just because he was able to hack into anything known to man, but his use at that computer was invaluable. Dinah suspected it was one of the main reasons Victor wasn't opposed to the position of Chloe as friend rather than foe; it meant he wouldn't be trapped behind a desk anymore.

"I'll send Impulse to help finish off." Without letting Dinah get a word of argument out, he was gone. She sighed, but followed his path, taking the top level and meeting Bart outside the entrance to the last wing.

"We got this!" Bart grinned, a small victory of beating AC and Oliver sweet in both their minds.

"One left… it looks empty as well." she agreed, pushing through the doors to find all the lights off. "Any chance for a lightswitch?" she jested, but as she patted the walls she found that very item. Instead of blinking, cheap, clinical lights, she found blindingly bright beams showering the dark corridors, they both turned their face away. What purpose would these dazzling lights have in an empty corridor? To blind any lost visitors? Or just disorientate and fuck with the minds of his 'subjects'? Dinah scowled at the ceiling avoiding the white light sources.

"_Empty test rooms."_ AC's voice came to both their ears. _"Floors clean. Two left, tell me this next one has something on." _he complained to Victor.

Dinah's eyes shot to Bart's, if the next floor was empty, they could lose their lead. Yes, it was a simply victory, materialistic on top of the heroism they were performing. But it was the little things like this that kept them smiling when the gore and horror they saw should freeze them motionless and depress them for days. People always say it's the simply things in life that make you happy, for the team, it was a critical truth.

"Run up and down, see if anyone's in here." she propositioned, her mind on the win. Bart smiled, smugly, but complied. He stopped after five empty cells though, eyes drawn to a window in the door.

"_Cyborg; where's storage in the plans?" _Clarks voice. They both ignored it, Bart focussed on the fifth cell, Dinah curious as to what gained his attention.

"_Canary and Impulse are there, why?"_

"_I don't know, but the guards say there's priority that they needed to get from there."_

"_Must be a machine or something." _Victor guessed. _"Canary?"_

Dinah rolled her eyes.

"Same as the other cells, if they want something, it's probably a person."

"_359 was in storage." _Victor suddenly recalled.

"And?" Dinah replied, adding a number and letter code of the door they stood outside. It clicked open within a few seconds, Victors voice following.

"_He was visiting her daily… could be the priority."_ Victor guessed. Dinah accepted it with a shrug, walking in the cell with Bart, both hesitant to the cold form lying unmoving on the cot, a feed of green meteor liquid dripping from an IV into his arm.

"Do we take it out?" Bart asked, unsure.

"I guess… he's not moving." Dinah reached out, a hand to his form. "He's cold." she instantly spoke, then did the one thing she didn't want to. She pressed her fingers to his neck, hoping for a pulse.

"Is he?" Bart couldn't ask. He might deny it in every other opportunity, but he was still the youngest of the group, still timid when it came to the hard truth that he couldn't save everyone, he wouldn't willingly check for a pulse on a 'dead' man. That reality hit too hard to let him sleep peacefully.

"No pulse." she concluded. "You think it's the meteor rocks?" Bart shrugged, but took out the IV anyway. They waited, but as seconds passed, nothing changed.

"I'll check for others." And he sped out the room, running the lines of cells. "Empty but one." he reported back, standing outside the cell Dinah was currently in.

"Open it." she insisted. "This one's gone." Removing her fingers from his neck, she turned, leaving the cell and following Bart out.

He sped at his fast pace, she followed at a light jog. She heard him read out the number to the cell, but this time, the response was not ideal.

"_It wants an additional security code." _

Additional security code? Dinah would bet her life savings this test subject was the priority the guards spoke of. She closed in, listening to Bart spar with Victor about the codes.

She rolled her eyes, peering in through the murky window in the door. A dirty blonde form lay on a cot, feeding from the same IV as the dead friend a few cells down. She was as frozen as the last, unmoving, unresponsive.

"Is it even worth it?" Dinah spoke up. "If she's already dead."

"_He didn't call it storage to hide dead people." _Victor sneered. _"Boyscout can break the do-"_

"Think again. Meteor rocks." Dinah corrected, knowing the green hue of the IV's would render him powerless.

"_Alright, I'll come see if I can get an electronic override. Aquaman, you alright for codes?"_

"_Looks like the same load of nothing as before, just testing labs and a few posh business rooms."_ AC answered.

Bart stared through the window again, whoever it was looked to have met the same fate as the boy down the hall. Wait… did her finger twitch?

"She's alive…" Bart whispered, trying to form words on his tongue, hoping against hope it was true.

Dinah's face came next to his.

"How can you tell? She dance and do a jig?" She was pissed at Lex for what he had created, and in true passive aggressive style, she was taking it out on anyone and everyone. "Then again… no point in giving a dead person an IV." she pondered aloud. Her eyes turned back to the previous cell, but he'd had no pulse at all, he was clammed over with a cold death. There was no hope for him.

"Satan came yesterday… she must be alive." Bart tried to rationalise. Both heads turned to Victor's boots at the other end of the corridor, he squinted away from the bright lights, a soft jog under his feet as he came closer. Dinah and Bart turned back to their reasoning skills, watching the motionless subject. Except… she wasn't entirely motionless.

"Did her finger just move?"

"I told you! She's alive!" Bart cheered.

"Not to burst your bubble, but dead people twitch…" Victor answered, ducking into the first open cell to confirm what Dinah had already clarified. Seconds later, he was back out, coming to the sealed door they stood before. The jack came out of his arm, an adaptation fitted and then forced into the electronic key card slot as he sorted his way through the system.

Bart and Dinah stood nervously behind him, but as the door clicked open finally, all three paused. Dead or alive?

"50 bucks, she's dead." Victor spoke, morbid, but he was a realist, and as his eyes raked over her, he saw the same condition as the previous inhabitant he visited.

"50 she's alive. I'm not seeing things." Dinah challenged, no less of a realist than Victor, but a believer in herself much more. She knew what she saw.

"50 she's a zombie." Bart submitted quietly, having watched far too many horror movies recently. But all heads turned back to the first cell, extending beyond reason to the fact Luthor's first zombie could walk out of the open door.

Victor rolled his eyes first, after taking a second of doubt. He was the first through the door, quickly followed by Bart. Dinah stood outside, not wanting the sight of another dead person carved into her memory. Lex had done many a thing worth his life ending, but… there was a big difference between reading files of the deceased and being faced to face with a life Lex had ended, Dinah didn't think she could take a second addition.

"She's cold." Victor announced, touching the body.

"But she moved." Bart replied with little fight. Had he seen the truth, or just what he wanted to see?

"She's white over, cold and unresponsive." Victor relayed the hard facts, taking his fingers to her neck for confirmation as Bart unplugged the IV sadly. "But…" Victor suddenly spoke. "This can't be…"

Dinah peered into the cell, watching as Victor took his hands to the form, placing her onto her back from her side where she had been positioned, his fingers back to her pulse point. Was she alive?

"Chloe!" Bart suddenly called aloud. All eyes went to him, but he was focussed on the girl, locked on the shape of her features, the dirty blonde cut that had once shone under moonlight. "CHLOE!"

His hands reached out, shaking her, trying to wake the human that had possibly slept her last sleep.

AC heard the haunting name fly across the earpiece and instantly turned to Oliver. All he found was the grunt of pain and the sight of a bloodied back as the man threw himself into a sprint, unfurling unknown energy to push him faster and faster towards her.

* * *

><p>"Burn kits!" A nurse called, running past Lionel's guards as they stood outside his room.<p>

"Got them. Doctor Patel has been paged." The second replied, flying past them again.

The guards passed a shrug between themselves, just everyday life for the nurses here.

Another several interns and nurses ran past in a rush, obviously leaving the on-call room and nurses station which was up the hall. Maybe not 'everyday' behaviour, they re-evaluated, seeing the multiple personnel running the corridor to the emergency unit.

A glance exchanged between the guards, then they turned to the familiar scent and sound of Lionel's nurse as she walked up to them for Lionel's hourly vital check. He'd been getting better for the past few weeks, but yesterday and today, he'd plummeted.

"Boys, need a coffee again?" she asked with a smile, like she always did. This time though, she looked worried beneath that.

"Nah, we're good Mary." The larger of the two responded. "What's going on?"

"Oh, explosions were reported at the Smallville fertiliser plant, reports are saying there were people in there. Gunna be a busy night." she offered with a sad expression. "But don't worry, I'm assigned to Mr Luthor all night." And she thanked them as they held open the door into Mr Luthor's room.

"Mary. Again. I told you. I'm fine." Lionel grunted, annoyed with the constant badgering.

"Mr Luthor, we almost lost you yesterday, I'm not letting a repeat happen." She grinned, the door closing softly behind her.

"What's the ruckus outside?"

"Oh Mr Luthor, don't you worry about someone else's problems, you just work on getting better."

"Don't patronise me, I know I'm dying. At least give a dying man the pleasure of an answer to his questions." he grumbled, watching her eyes scan the chart at the end of his bed for several seconds to recall her previous recordings.

"Alright, we'll make a deal Mr Luthor. You stay alive until tomorrow, and I'll tell you everything you want to know about today."

"Don't placate me like a child." But the grumble was without feeling. He liked the care Mary gave, he liked the way she smiled, unknowing of his crimes. Innocently blind to the corrupt darkness of his heart. To her, he was just another man to help heal.

"Deep breaths, same drill as always." Mary instructed and he blinked up to find her with the stethoscope in her ears, pressed to his chest. He blinked a few more times, trying to clear the dizziness from his vision. "Mr Luthor?" she repeated, noting his lack of response. "Mr Luthor, talk to me."

"I'm just… dizzy…" He reached out a hand to nudge away her hands and concern, but she caught it easily.

"Mr Luthor, you're freezing cold." This time, the alarm was in her voice. "Mr Luthor…" She saw the way his chest rose and fell faster and faster. She instantly reached out, slapping the code button for his room. Lionel Luthor was a critical and priority patient, as soon as anything went wrong, a doctor had to be called. And this was very wrong. "Breath with me Mr Luthor, stay calm." But his hands were flying out without any strength again, he kept trying to shake the dizziness from his eyes and then she watched him crash back on the bed, hands squeezed tight.

"What do we have?" The doctor asked, throwing open the door with a handful nurses behind him with a crash cart stood by. In the same instant, he took control of the entire room. "He's leaving us again. Damn it Luthor." And the doctor barked out order after order that Mary and the others fell into line to obey. But all too soon, the darkness swallowed Lionel Luthor. "We've lost him." The doctor announced.

"Call it Doctor." Head Nurse Agatha spoke, with the same sadness of the others. It was hard enough losing any patient, but a celebrity like Lionel, he wasn't always a pleasure to be around, but he was a favourite for all the nurses on the floor.

"Time of death; 3:33am."

* * *

><p>Chloe woke several times, each for no longer than a few seconds. Whether it was hallucinated or real, she couldn't tell, but she felt the cold whip of fresh air across her skin, the warmth of a body carrying her. Voices argued somewhere in the present and past of her mind, alarm bells rang out, sirens too. But, each time, the effects of the drug pulled her back into its possession.<p>

Oliver need no more blame adding but it came anyway. Victor would say he was finding punishment for his guilt as he lifted Chloe from the cot, insisting to carry her until they were back at Watchtower. He tried to cover the pain he felt with every step of the stairs, but in the back of his mind, Oliver was paying for his mistakes by feeling the agony of his wounds. Dinah would say he was holding on so strong for fear of losing her again. Each had their own views about their leader, but no-one said a word, no-one knew what to say…

He held her even as they travelled, the backseat of a black SUV speeding back into Metropolis past the ambulances. News had broken, emergency departments called, Clark had stayed to make sure the evidence was found incriminating both Lex and those who aided him. But the surveillance of the night's activities, specifically the 'storage room'; that came with them.

Nobody could have predicted the first time Chloe would have risen from unconsciousness would be to the motion of Arrow lifting her into his arms. Her reaction; to raise a hand to his face, and speak his name. Not _his_ name, but Oliver's. Of course, then she'd blacked out, so who knew what it meant, but it plagued their minds. Did she know? Did Lex?

Emil was already in Watchtower when they arrived, prepared for the worst.

"What happened?" he instantly asked, seeing AC come through the doors, a box of papers in hand, the blood down his arm alerting the doctor.

"I'm fine, Oliver needs you more." He brushed off the worry and Emil turned his attention to the doors, ignoring Dinah and Victor carrying more boxes of medical research and locking on Oliver, who was carrying a petite blonde. An unconscious, undernourished blonde on the dangerous side of pale.

"Set her on the couch." he ordered instantly, taking charge, but as Oliver turned to follow the order Emil was seconds from a heart attack.

"Don't bother." Dinah spoke, appearing next to him. "He won't let you touch him until you've looked over her."

"Who is she?" he asked, pure curiosity as he lifted the medical kit from the floor.

"Long story." Dinah rolled her eyes. "But let's just say he's quite attached to her."

"What happened?" Dinah stayed by him as he chased Oliver's footsteps into the living area of the loft apartment. Dinah passed him the paper she'd kept onto since she walked in the door. "What is… oh…" Emil skimmed the chemical composition of the liquid that had been feeding Chloe. "This is highly dangerous…" he commented to himself in a mumble, lifting his eyes for a second to see how Oliver knelt by the sofa, holding the hand of the victim of this poison. The man had a cold sweat over his skin.

"Doc, do something!" Oliver cut into the doctor's analysis.

"You're white over, you need to sit down and let me bandage you."

"Her first." he corrected violently.

"I don't know what I can do." Emil panicked, skimming over the text again, with the chemicals Lex was using here, she was lucky to have a pulse. But… without weeks to test, he couldn't reverse anything and who knew what would happen if he mixed her blood with more drugs? She'd probably just have to get the product out of her system… which was a matter of wait and see. Emil hated that prognosis more than any other he'd had to give. Wait and see was putting hopes into a basket of probable darkness.

"Do something, anything." Oliver pleaded, letting his anger get the better of him. Emil nervously glanced over the paper again, lifting his eyes to the new additions to the room, hearing the ruckus. "Now!"

Emil crossed the room, paper still in hand, but could only appease Oliver with a check of her pulse, it was a little weaker than a resting state, something Oliver definitely wasn't comparable too.

"Her pulse should pick up as the drugs wear off." Emil cleared his throat to announce.

"That's it?!" Oliver questioned, agitated.

"Without any analysis of the compound I can't risk giving her anything, it could react and kill her." he defended nervously.

"You can't just leave her like this!"

"Ollie chill, the doc's doing all he can." Dinah warned, watching as the fist Oliver tried to form curled too tight around delicate, unmoving, white fingers.

"Do more!" Oliver pleaded with anger.

"I think I can give her some adrenaline… if, you let me at least give you something for the pain." Emil bartered. In Oliver's desperate mind, he couldn't find the strength to fight, just agreed and turned back to Chloe.

How could he have let this happen to her? He barely felt the warmth of Emil's fingers as he turned over his arm and pushed some syringe of drugs into the crease of his elbow.

"Now her." Oliver demanded, watching Emil as he went back to the medical kit, but it wasn't another syringe of adrenaline he lifted out, it was bandage. "What are yo…" Oliver trailed off, hearing a slur in his words, feeling a weight sway him. He blinked hard, trying to clear the heaviness of his eyelids pulling him into sleep. His eyes shot at Emil in curse, but his accusations paused as he gripped the sofa, trying to stop himself from falling over.

"Doc… did you just break your hippocratic oath?" Dinah asked, impressed and shocked.

"I took care of my patients." he curtly replied, feeling justified as he pushed the glasses back up his nose nervously. "And I would greatly appreciate if you helped me bandage him and tell me what happened tonight." Victor and AC shared an approving grin but took an arm of Oliver each, helping him up and off with the leather top so Emil could inspect and wrap the wounds. Dinah took seat on the chair, crossing her legs over each other and watched, knowing she could offer little more than the story to this situation.

"It went quite well… bar Lex's hissy fit." Dinah started. "Clark made sure everyone got out, despite my suggestion that we should leave the scientists to rot down there…" She rolled her eyes, boyscout was too good for his own good.

"Where's Bart? The little fast one?" Emil had yet to learn all their names perfectly. They'd only met a few weeks ago.

"Jolly Green told him to F-off back home." Dinah laughed. "He was getting a little annoying."

"He was just as worried as the rest of us." Victor corrected.

"If the rest of us had dated her." AC revised with a chuckle, helping Victor with the sleeping weight as they maneuverer him to an easier position for the Doctor.

"Can you blame him?" Dinah defended. "The man's never had any competition for a girl before."

"I though Bart said they were just friends." Victor asked.

"Yeah, but you guys seem to think 'just friends' means something else entirely when you're dating the girl." Dinah qualified.

"What did this?" Emil asked, pressing his fingers above one of the smaller cuts.

"Explosion pushed him onto barbed wire." AC answered. Emil's eyes said it all; what the hell was Lex thinking? AC just shrugged, he was none the wiser than Emil. The littlest Luthor had finally stepped off his rocker and thrown himself into insanity.

"I'll sterilise and wrap I think." Dinah left Emil to talk to himself, instead addressing the others.

"Does she know?"

"More importantly, does Lex?" Victor pushed, the sting of antiseptic flooding the room. It was a good job Oliver was already out otherwise this would have hurt a great deal more. Emil was gentle, even as he bandaged, the kids left to their own thoughts. As Emil finished, AC's thoughts grew worried.

"What if he's given her something?" he questioned, but before questions fired back at him, he spoke again. "We don't know what's she's got in her system, we hardly have the time to match up drug codes to her electronic records."

"Like what?" Victor took place with AC lifting Oliver to their shoulder and walking him through to the bunk they kept for overnight work in the back room.

"I don't know, maybe something that transfers what she sees to Lex."

"Let's try and keep suggestions in the realm of reality." Victor scoffed, settling Oliver down on top of the cover.

"Alright, what about some anger inducing thing, or some truth drug… we have no idea if she's going to wake up and try to bludgeon us all to death."

"Highly unlikely." Victor criticised, but paused on his way out the doorway. "But, you do raise a valid point."

"So what, one of us stays and watches her?"

"She'll probably be asleep for a while, gents." Emil answered, his targets set on AC now Oliver was bandaged up.

"So put her in the lock up." AC suggested, resigning himself to being the next patient.

"Oliver will kill you if he sees her back in a cage." Dinah argued, stepping herself into the conversation as she so often did.

"Then we hope she wakes up first." AC shrugged and saw reluctant agreement in Victor.

* * *

><p>"Gone?" Lex repeated to the phone. "Find her now!"<p>

"_Sir, the police are already in the lab, there's talk of video footage being left… they have you on camera. Th-"_

Lex hung up on his PI.

She was gone.

He was ruined.

She's _**destroyed**_ him.

It was a stupid mistake to leave any evidence there, but he was conceited enough to think no-one would find it. Lex pushed his foot down on the accelerator, ignoring the flash of the speed camera and sets of red lights ahead. He had a more important problem.

Chloe.

He needed the names from her. He needed her back. How the hell did she get out? No-one reported seeing her leave at any point… so where would she go?

Lex knew of only one place. There were very few places Chloe felt comfortable… the slums used to be one of them, she'd even made friends here… a new father figure. Lex ground his teeth together, instantly changing course into the slums.

As soon as the car came to a stop, he pulled the gun from the glove box, having no fear as he walked with it in plain sight through the edge of the slums. Very few people turned to him with anything but fear. The way he liked it. The way he craved from Chloe. Obedience for fear of rebuttal.

Mothers turned their children back into the houses. Children of the slums had seen guns before, that wasn't the problem… the problem was Lex. It was his expression, the look of madness that would let no obstacles stop him from his mission. The threat of punishment if a toe stepped out of line. The hanging thread of sanity he was slipping from.

"Going somewhere with that?" a voice spoke behind Lex, it sounded bored, a gravelly smokers edge to it. The smell of a lit cigarette came with the newcomer.

"Nowhere you want to know." Lex answered and walked forward again.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you." The voice came again and this time it ticked off Lex to the point of him stopping and turning. He met a man with messy black hair falling over his face with a greasy cling, sharp cut features women would have called handsome… but nothing special.

"And why would that be?" Lex scoffed. The man took another draw of the cigarette before throwing it to the ground and crushing it under his foot. The very act annoyed Lex. Lex deserved instantly answers, not some dick to finish his cigarette before speaking his answer. His fingers twitched over the gun.

No.

Not yet.

He had no reason to shoot this jackass.

"Nothing here for you rich man. This isn't the place for your kind." The smoker's raw gasp of air drew into the tar coated lungs and Lex found himself disgusted with the piece of trash standing before him, telling him where he should and shouldn't be. Chloe had been here, Chloe had lived here, and she was exactly like him. If he was right, she was here right now. Hiding behind her pseudo father.

Like he didn't know about him… he knew everything she did.

Lex's eyes cut up to the man again. Those features… would Chloe have found them attractive… would she have slept with this man? Lex found his temper hitting the ceiling.

How dare she sleep with him?! Lex pulled up the gun, drawing the trigger neatly three times, each hitting the man, taking him down with ease. The blood poured, it gave Lex an ounce of calm for the pounds of tension.

He'd beat her until she cried when he dragged her back from here. He'd make sure she never left his side again! She belonged to him.

Lex stormed through the alleys and backstreets, a misty map in the back of his mind, it led him straight to the rackety home of Alfie Lockwood, old git and ex-marine.

"Where is she?" Lex demanded, raising the gun to the old man on the rocking chair. The chair instantly stopped rocking, the creak fading into silence. It seemed even the birds dare not chirp.

"I have no idea who she is, nor where she would be. So get the hell of my property lad." The grumpy old geezer ordered, having seen far too many guns to find the demanding man before him scary. But… Alfie stood, squinting through eyes that needed glasses. There was no nervous wobble in the man, just madness in his eyes. From the shined black shoes to the over coat without a mark of dirt on it, Alfie knew exactly who this man was, and what he wanted with the _she_ he hadn't seen in month. She'd ran away. Good on her. He always wanted her to finally get the balls to betray Luthor.

Alfie's hand sank to his left, gripping the loaded shotgun firmly. It would be his deepest pleasure to put a shell into Luthor. Several infact.

"I know she's here. Just hand her over."

Alfie rose the gun slowly into his hold, making it clear to the rich kid he wasn't playing around.

"And if I don't?"

The words, whatever meaning they held, acted as confirmation for the little doubt in lex's warped mind. Chloe was here.

Lex took no time in wasting the old man, four shots hitting him in the chest. Lex didn't care for the overkill, it was a message, not a purpose. Nobody crossed Luthor and lived. The body fell back into the rocking chair, the creaking piece of furniture tipping over backwards, slamming the corpse into the porch floor.

Lex let himself in, stepping over the deceased, gun close by. A golden lab whined from the corner of the living room, backing up further from Lex as he entered. The dog was as old and decrepit as its owner, already dying, limping even as he tried to move backwards in fear, Lex may as well finish off the bastard. He lifted the gun, but the clip clicked empty.

"Your lucky day." Lex muttered under his breath and turned into the next room. He searched every room, every place one could hide. But Chloe wasn't there… His rage seethed. He slammed his shoe into the wall once, twice, three times. It did nothing for his anger, but he summed Chloe must have escaped through the backdoor while he dealt with the front guard.

Shouting her name, he slammed back the door, storming back into the tall, dirty alleys, taking down anyone who crossed him with second clip of bullets and hunted for the woman that wasn't ever there.

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>Told you someones dies :) hehehe. I bet you all knew it was going to be Lionel, didn't you? Clever bunch.<p>

Review if you have a spare second or two. Much love, see you soon for the penultimate chapter.  
>Xx<p> 


	45. The Cold Goodbye

I know I said Thursday it would be up and I am so sorry it's been this badly delayed. But when shit hits the fan, shit seriously hits the fan, sprays the walls and covers the carpets. It's been a monster of a week and i'm super ready for it to be finished. This fanfiction however... I'm having trouble letting go and finishing my editing of the last chapter :'(

There won't be a post this Monday (tomorrow) but the Monday after (24th), the last chapter (/chapters -might be in two parts, haven't decided yet) will be up and the fanfiction will be out of my hands entirely allowing a new dream to entertain my fanfiction brain.

You guys have been amazing, I cannot thank you enough for the support and reviews. If you can somehow guess the ending I will seriously tip my hat to you, haha. Otherwise please forgive if this chapter seems a little 'off' my usual work standard, I have a thumping headache and running on very little sleep due to said shit hitting said fan (For those who didn't read the original update; my housemate has been in and out of A&E and my good friend duties have been tested to the extreme- he _should _be fine now though, -fingers crossed- thank you for your kind words).

**Previously; **AC pulled injured Arrow from the wreck of 33.1 F-Wing after Lex set of the self-destruction of his secret lab. Dinah and Bart discovered the occupants of the 'storage room'; one dead, the other Chloe. Oliver, pained and running on adrenaline ran to her aid, swept her from the building and back to watchtower. Unable to process his own wounds, he ended up being tricked by Emil into sedation and Chloe locked in their panic room incase her blood cocktail was not a fan of wake-up calls.

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><p>C<span>hapter Forty-Five; The Cold Goodbye<span>

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><p>'<em>We all have a need to cling onto things. But eventually you have to loosen your grip.'- <em>Lex Luthor (Season Four, Episode Commencement).

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><p>Chloe woke slowly and alone, the shaking in her limbs stirring her from a dreamless night. Her eyes opened to an unfamiliar cell; no screams, no cries, no pained gasps. No machinery whizzing in her ears, no hammering head from a drug induced wake up call. Had Lex moved her again? Another trick?<p>

She sat up, a blanket pooling around her waist.

What was this? Lex had never given her any comforts. And why was she so cold? Chloe hugged her knees, pulling the blanket back up to cover all she could.

Shivering, she considered her predicament. It could easily be trickery, to try and lure her into a false sense of security.

But… this could all just be another hallucination again. Her fingers stroked experimentally against the blanket, it felt real, it felt soft even, rich in material and cost. So did the cot she was currently on, no structural bones pushed against her as she struggled to keep her lacking warmth.

And the freezing cold temperature, she felt like she sat in a freezer, it was too real for a watery hallucination. Her hands rushed up and down her arms under the blanket, trying to stir some heat to her body.

Was this some new twisted form of torture, giving her the comfort of a blanket to battle the brute that was frostbite?

Chloe examined the walls, trying to figure out where he'd moved her to. But her eyes first landed on an array of cracks in the walls paintwork. It looked like an object had collided with it, cracks spirally out from the impact. She wasn't the first in this cell, whatever it was.

Testing the new environment, she stood. She still wore the same clothes, the same standard issue prison garb Lex used to de-individualise his subjects. The blanket came with her, happily wrapped around her small frame, brushing against her toes in its great length. Her first step was towards the chair, prepared for the pain of the limp, but… nothing. What had happened?

The last thing she remembered was Lex dosing her with something new… it was purple… or was it green? She rose a hand to her head, the pain of struggling to sort hallucination from reality burning at her mind. Her fingers felt like ice against her skin, and oddly enough… cotton… Chloe brought her fingers to her eyes finding a white bandage wrapped around her palm. She rotated her wrist backwards and forwards slowly. What was Lex up to?

She remembered falling onto the iron frame of the old cot and cutting her hand after she'd been sick from Lex's latest truth serum attempt, but she'd never got any treatment for it. That wasn't Lex's style. More pain meant more truth.

Had he gotten his answer?

Panic flooded through her and she stumbled back to the bed. Her last hallucination she had seen Arrow… had she called his name like she recalled doing? Oh God, Lex knew!

Her eyes scanned for the door, would he have locked her in now he had his answer? Or would she be free to leave, thrown aside like expired waste? But Chloe caught the blue glow of an alarm clock by the door, sitting on a small end table. One of those expensive clocks that tell you the date and temperature. That was odd enough to start off with; she had furnishings now? She narrowed her eyes and read the temperature from the bold, blue figures. Chloe felt nothing like the 19 degrees centigrade it read. Her eyes caught the date and she did a double take on the numbers. Dec 1st. But… that would be… days… weeks... It didn't make sense…

Another of Lex's tricks?

"I don't know man, how soon is too soon?" Chloe froze, pushing to her feet, her eyes to the window in the door. This was _not_ 33.1. Transferred?

"Either ask her out, or don't." a woman's voice followed and Chloe strained to find the source.

"You're turning into a girl here." A man's laughter came to her ears. Laughter? This definitely wasn't 33.1. Chloe rose to her tiptoes, pressing her face to the glass trying for a better view range, she still couldn't find them. "Ask her out and get it over with." it continued. "Worse that happens is that she says no."

"But she's different… I don't want her to say no."

"Look fish boy, either ask her out now, or risk being friendzoned forever." The woman again. Fish boy?

Wait.

Chloe froze.

She couldn't be…

Could she?

Dare she to dream of the possibility?

…Was she out?

Had someone truly rescued her?

Had Oliver?

Oliver.

Her heart soared and she pushed her hand from the warmth of the blanket pushing down the door handle. But the momentum met a resisting force, the handle stuck heavily halfway down and the door didn't move an inch. Locked.

Panic started to bubble beneath her skin, she rattled the handle again, desperate for her freedom, the small walls crowding in on her again. Why?

Why would they rescue her only to trap her again?

What was going on?

* * *

><p>"Someone's up." Dinah noted, the coffee on her knee as she stared at AC's nervous battle with his phone. "Damn it, just call her." she ordered and stood up with Victor, prepared to meet with their house guest. A hand came across her path.<p>

"Maybe… someone without a temper should find out what happened?" Vic suggested, his eyes inflicting the statement to Dinah. Unoffended, Dinah shrugged and sunk back into her chair, ready to bully AC into calling the wonderful woman he'd met at the beach a few days ago. The man needed her to push him and Vic had a point; Dinah didn't do emotional female conversations. With a smile, she watched Victor leave the room, his normal confidence wavering with each step. Dinah didn't blame him, from what she'd heard the woman was a spitfire.

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><p>"Chloe." Chloe returned straight up to the door, shaking from the cold, hugging her small frame. A male stood on the other side and she instantly recognised him. Codename Cyborg. Real name… umm, it was Vince, or Vinny… no, Victor! That was it! Victor Stone.<p>

She was right, Oliver had saved her.

But, where was he?

Why was she hidden behind padlocks?

Before she could force out a question, the door locked clicked and opened slowly. Chloe didn't know what to do; follow her instincts and run, or stay and find her saviour? All she could manage was to stand there before Oliver's team-mate, shivering as she tightened her hold on the blanket.

"How are you feeling? You were out for a while." he began, his voice soft and comforting. Chloe blinked at him, at least he was friendlier than her last captor.

"How long?" she finally spoke, her voice dry and the sound scratchy. She coughed, trying to find volume in her voice.

"You don't remember what happened?" he instantly asked, curiosity pasted all over his face, his jaw angled in worry.

Instead of risking more words from her aching throat, she shook her head. He just nodded, stepping back and extending an arm over to the right. C

hloe knew where she was the instant she stepped out and saw the huge stained glass window that easily was three times the height of herself. The clocktower apartment in Metropolis. "Are you cold?" Victor followed asking, noticing the way she shook.

"Freezing," she attempted to speak, but ended up nodding again. She felt a warm hand against her back, urging her forward. Chloe was too numb to fight, she went along with what was happening and let him sit her down on the sofa, opening a laptop while calling for a man he addressed as 'Doc'.

Her mind was everywhere, barely able to focus long enough to recall details, but then there was her fallback instinct; the one that easily found the doors to the rooms, identified best escape routes and planned the number of steps to freedom. Was she free, or would she be bundled back into the cell when he'd finished with her? Chloe decided to put it to the back of her mind and fight that battle when it came to it. Now, she was overlooking his shoulder, indulged in the information he summoned to the laptop. Not a second of hesitation crossed his features as he slid the laptop to her own knee, allowing her the search she desired.

There was surprise, pause, reasoning and then, Chloe started to put pieces together. She was free… truly free…

Her eyes swallowed the information on the screen, the 'Doc' claiming the interest of Victor and leaving her alone with her reading.

Most of the material was familiar from the flashdrive files she had given them, but the one Victor had pulled up for her was definitely new to her eyes. It was one she hadn't seen before. One she wouldn't have seen.

359.

Herself.

An entire file of her records electronically under her fingertips.

She sped her eyes down document after document, taking in everything she'd experienced in the past weeks in written format. Half of these reports weren't even touching on the fear she'd felt living those situations. She remained ignorant to the two men talking in the same room, her mind was hooked on her medical biography.

Lex had put her into storage… he'd shut her down for three weeks. From where the records end, it seemed like they'd pulled her out of this before he could wake her back up with a purpose. Did this mean he didn't know the identities?

A shiver rolled up her spine and she tightened the blanket around her, trying to balance her fingers on the keyboard with preserving warmth in her hands. What the hell drug had he given her that had her frozen inside?

She easily found her answer, and threw herself into a document search for more information, she found it with minimal effort.

'Side effect of awakening; hypothermia.'

Awakening. She'd truly awoken. It wasn't a hallucination. She was truly free.

She was_** free**_.

Her eyes lifted from the screen, feeling a presence hovering over her, she found dark eyes looking back with sympathy.

"Do you remember anything?" Chloe presumed the man was the 'Doc'.

"I rem-" her voice faded out again, scratching her throat.

"Sorry." Came the words instantly from behind their attempted conversation and she caught the sight of Victor walking from the room into another.

"Just a nod or shake perhaps." The doctor awkwardly laughed. "Do you remembered what happened?" Chloe just turned around the laptop, showing the doctor the screen of the drug she'd been given. He bent, nudging up his glasses and squinted at the angle of the screen. "Well, that explains the cold shakes. We can regulate that soon, don't worry. I imagine you don't remember a lot of the last few weeks then, but before then…" he caught the nod of his newest patient and smiled. "Everything else feel okay?" Another nod and the Doctor stood back up. A hand came outstretched with a glass of water. Chloe drank it like a dying man under strict observation of the doctor. Her first question was one she didn't think about, just a need. She had to know. She needed him. If he'd saved her, where was he?

"Where's Oliver?"

Both men froze, the quiet mumble of voices from the other room silenced as well. And then she realised her mistake, the wrong name had slipped.

"So you _do_ know." Victor spoke, narrowing his eyes. "Does Lex?"

"I don't know…" she replied honestly. "I didn't tell him." Of that she was 99% sure. There was always the chance her hallucinations had slipped, but, if that was the case, why keep using the truth serum, why put her into a coma? "No." she answered again. "He doesn't know." Then at their confusion she clarified. "At least, not from me."

"Do you know about the rest of us?" Victor calmly asked.

"For a while." she answered, seeing no point in lying. "Where is he?"

"Resting." The Doctor addressed her this time. Resting? Chloe thought he would have been the first face she saw after he rescued her… unless…

"Is he alright? What happened?" Had the rescue come at a price? She thought she caught a glimpse of an eyeroll from Victor, but he answered.

"Nothing he can't handle. 33.1 is finished and soon Lex will be too."

"What happened?" Chloe probed again, relentless.

Victor found himself explaining the entire plan, from flaw to success, Chloe sat captivated watching the scene paint in her mind's eye. From shock, to worry to hate, she cycled through emotions.

When every desperate question was answered she looped back around to her first, wanting to see Oliver. The injury he'd taken hurt her more than she'd thought it would. She needed to see him, to know he was alright.

"So what now?" she lastly asked in a whisper, her eyes on Oliver's knocked out form. He looked as beautiful as ever, still and silent. His face turned to the side, sleeping on his front, bandages rolling around his torso like a child's Halloween costume. She longed to touch him, to feel him… But with Victor watching her like a hawk, it felt far too intimate to do with an audience. She refrained, curling back her fingers under the blanket into tiny fists.

"What now?" Victor repeated. "Well, I imagine you want to stay here until sleeping beauty wakes up, so… it's not much, but there's a small shower in the back, Bart dropped off some clothes, so you can get cleaned up if you like… take a walk perhaps." Victor offered, nervously tapping his fingers against his keyboard as he sat back down with the laptop, having already discussed most of the files with her.

"I'm free?" she dared to voice, worried about his answer. But her response was a look of horror shooting across Victor's face. Disgust that she thought she couldn't leave. He knew putting her in that cell was a bad idea, but he worried too much to take the risk. Chloe instantly felt herself blush and changed conversational direction quickly. "And Lex?"

"They have all the evidence they need to make an arrest and put him away for a long time."

"Lionel?"

But to this, Victor paused… "What will happen to him?"

"He died a few hours ago." Victor breathed, eyes cast down. Chloe heard the news, she processed it, but had no idea how to react. She just stood numbly, huddled in the material's warmth. She was torn between being happy… and yet, unhappy at the ease of his passing.

"The shower?" she asked quietly and followed his finger towards the small room at the back.

* * *

><p>Lana stepped out from the shower, hearing the opening music to the mornings 6am news in the other room. As much as she hated a hotel stay over, she wasn't satisfied with sleeping on a plane, nor staying any closer to Metropolis than was necessary. The walls weren't anything to brag about and she could hear the anchorman read the top story's highlights as she wrapped the towel tight around her frame. She barely had a chance to hook the material back over itself before she heard her name coming from Jason.<p>

"Lana!" he called. "Lana, you're going to want to see this, now!"

She smiled to herself, he'd probably found something funny in the hotel room and felt compelled to share it with her. Last night it was the view of the parking lot as a drunk business man stumbled over his own car's tyres. She loved the simplicity of being with Jason. He was straight forward, no cards up his Armani sleeve, no hidden agendas locked in a vault behind a painting. He was just Jason. You got exactly what you saw. "Lana!" Lana paused… this shout had an edge of panic that wasn't there before.

With a sigh, she resigned herself to towelling off in the room and stepped out of the steamed bathroom into the bedroom of the hotel.

"What is i-?" but her question fell short as she saw a picture of Lex Luthor on her TV screen. The demon in the flesh. The only man she knew with the life goal of having the devil tip him his hat.

"-wanted in connection to several shootings occurring in the downtown residences of Metropolis." The newsreporter continued, slightly fazed by the words the teleprompter gave her.

"What happened?" Lana asked, lowering herself onto the end of the bed next to Jason. His hand immediately went to her knee in a protective motion, his attention to the news. It was all instinct. To save her, to cherish her, to remove the Luthor taint from her. But now, what could he do but offer her a comforting touch? Lex had gone off the rails. Would he be coming for Lana? His grip tightened slightly as the reporter continued, adding a warning.

"Anyone with information of the whereabouts of Lex Luthor should contact the authorities immediately, he is assumed to be armed and highly dangerous . Police are investigatin-" Lana tuned it out and turned to face Teague. He turned slowly back to her, unable to meet her eyes yet. He'd promised to take care of her, to take her away from Lex.

"There's video…" Jason whispered, referring to the news report currently on. Video footage of Lex pulling the trigger on some nobody in the slums of metropolis that crossed his war path. It was instantly leaked onto the internet as the issue came to light… Clear evidence of the truth: Lex was falling apart. "Four are dead, two in hospital."

"This is all my fault… I left him." Lana couldn't believe Lex had cracked so far in such short time. He was usually so controlled, so organised. He'd never be caught if he truly wanted these things done. Was this all her fault? Had she broken his strength when she left? Was she the reason for the victim's pain?

"No. Lionel died last night." Teague supplied, having jumped to the same guilty conclusion she had. Jason was happy to have it pinned on Lionel rather than Lana. She couldn't handle the guilt. "He's not coping with it." Jason tried to offer some understanding to her but Lana wasn't listening, her eyes were back on the news, a live reporter broadcasting from Smallville Power Plant. The second most popular report of the day, also tied to Lex.

"-All that is known at the moment is that the police have seized evidence from the labs and wish to speak to Mr Luthor. There is speculation about the purpose of the underground laboratory; a lot of the gossip is that it was used for experimental purposes into research of meteor enhanced individuals. Not all ethically approved. But as we have said, it is merely gossip at this point and we cannot make assumptions." The field anchor was reporting back in to the studio and her words chilled over Lana. Lex was nothing like she thought. Murder? Experimentation?

"He can't get you here, Lana." Jason's arms came around her, exactly when she needed them most and he held her while her mind raced. She was lucky to have left when she did.

* * *

><p>Chloe dried herself in the tiny bathroom, trying to keep her eyes from the mirror. It showed nothing desirable. Although the water had warmed her, she was chilled all over the second she was out of the spray, and she was as pale as death, her eyes looked blackened, like a drug addict forgone sleep for weeks. Then there was her muscles. Everything ached, to bend down, to straighten up; they hadn't been used for a long time. She was grateful for the clothes, they even fit quite well, except the jeans which were a little too big, sitting low on her hips and showing the black lace of the underwear. But the thing was… the size… before, she would have struggled to fit herself into this size, now, whatever Lex had dosed her with over the weeks had barely kept her alive, her body starved for energy and taking it from anywhere she had spare. Her ribs looked like a cage pushing against her skin, her hips were no longer beautifully shaped; they were skeletal and clunky. She looked terrible, it was miracle she was alive, another few days and she'd probably be dead.<p>

Chloe had always said she had a few pounds she wanted to lose, a few places she didn't like the shape of… what woman didn't have them? But, this… it was unhealthy. She covered herself quickly with the clothes, not wanting to catch the sight of another bone threatening to push out of her skin. In the back of her mind, she was vain enough to wish she had make-up, even if just for her eyes, they looked hollow and empty; lifeless.

But she knew it was time to get back out and finish grilling Victor. As usual, her mind had gone wild while she'd been alone to think in the shower and she'd lined up another few thousand questions she wanted answers to. He hadn't denied her anything yet, and with hope, he wouldn't now. She had a few questions for the Doctor too.

But… she blinked back up to the reflection… she wanted to get out of here before Oliver woke up and saw her. She didn't look pretty, she didn't look beautiful, and she didn't want his eyes raking over her while she could barely look at herself without recoiling. She'd be back, but… for now, she was vain enough to want the colour back in her cheeks, some meat on her bones.

The Doctor had tried to encourage her to eat something, but, she felt far too sick to try, she still did. But later, after the side effects, maybe she'd be back to her old self. That was another question she had lined for the Doc; how long before she finally felt warm again?

Chloe wrapped her arms around her small frame, wishing she hadn't left the blanket so far away.

She tugged on the door handle, heading straight for the coffee and warmth, but there, right before her eyes as she opened the door, she saw _**him**_.

The _him_ that haunted her, the _him_ that had plagued her hallucinated mind. The _him_ that stood in nothing more than green leather pants and cream bandages across his chest. The_ him_ that sank his brown eyes from the top of her head to the toes on her feet. The _him_ that had her heart pounding inside her weak chest.

The _him_ that had clearly been waiting for her.

His eyes instantly hit her. Her pale lips dropped open softly, a shivering breath escaped her mouth. _**Oliver**_.

Her shower had been filled with questions about this moment; what would she do? What would she say? What would _he_ say?

In the end, she decided it came down to how she felt in the moment.

And in this moment, she cracked apart, throwing her arms around him, pressing her face to his bandaged chest and releasing a torrent of tears.

Every emotion shivered through her, ripping her apart from the inside, clouding her mind with the pain she'd been holding back. Chloe considered herself a strong woman, one that could fight everything, but the moment she saw his eyes, all the damage behind her stone wall came flooding out.

He was instantly there, his arms tight around her, pulling her closer, closer still. To feel she was real, to soothe the ache, to take her pain. He held her like he'd never touched another woman in his life, like he never wished to touch another. She was it.

"Chloe." he breathed, his voice choked up. Her sobs continued, her fingers pressing like icicles against his back, but for nothing in the world would he let her go. He held her to him, whispering her name in awed fascination. She was here, finally here. In his arms. On his side. His lips pressed to the top of her head, the tight pull of his healing scars nothing compared to the pain in his heart. What if she left? Could he bare it?

Each second he was waiting, convincing himself not to break down the door and envelope her in his arms, he was pacing, preparing for a conversation he didn't know how to speak.

His arms held her tighter. Her hitch of breath alerted him to being too tight, but the second his warmth started to pull away she squeezed herself to him, refusing to let it be over yet. Refusing to let him see the shadow of death clinging to her features, to her bones, to the little of muscle she had. To how weak she was…

As she cried, for no reason, and every reason, she found comfort, she found him holding her together, holding her where she fit perfectly. This was where she belonged, or at least it felt like she did. The brush of his fingers along her arms brought back the sweetest of memories with him. Every tease… every kiss… that one beautiful night he'd taken her with nothing but love in his heart.

He was it; everything.

"You're freezing." he mumbled against her hair. She didn't offer a reply between the desperate gulps of oxygen. The fear was pushing its way out of her, the bad seeping out as she cried, and he was fully prepared to accept what was left, however broken it might be. "Chloe." His fingers curled their way from her back to hook under her chin, to try and meet those soulful eyes that had sparked him into insanity and love. She refused, unhooking her chin. "Chloe, please." The worry was killing him, why wouldn't she let him see those beautiful eyes. She took another few steadying breaths, calmed herself for what was needed and brought her face from the sodden bandages, her eyes still crying tears, but she lifted her face to him, pained by the reaction she would get. And she did, he couldn't hold back the shock, the dark circles under her once shining eyes, the pale cream cheeks that swallowed her beautiful blush, the full rouge of her lips faded to the lightest version of pink he'd ever seen.

Chloe was prepared for the shock, not the way his hands squeezed around whatever they held, trying to form the fists he wanted to pummel into Lex.

"Ol-" she squeaked and he quickly released her.

"He did this?" His temper wavered his voice. While she'd been held in his arms, he'd told himself she'd be restored the second she woke… but this… this was beyond even Lex's twisted mind.

"Not now. Please." she pleaded softly. Not now… now she needed him here to hold her together, not abandon her.

But Oliver's hands dropped from her, like the care for his alter ego or identity, he just let her go. "I'll kill him." he threatened, storming back to the small bedroom he'd awoke in, where his crossbow sat. Chloe chased his large strides, her vision blurred by still pouring tears. She was falling apart without him, shivering inside her skin now his warmth was gone… cracking down the seams.

Oliver?

His feet kept walking, her tiny steps rushed to follow him, to be back in those arms, to feel whole again…

Oliver… she needed him… where was he going?

Was her hero letting her down now?

A cold shadow swamped her, this time having nothing to do with the after effects of the drug. He was going to hunt down Lex _now_. Even as she stood, tears pouring down her face, heart on the line… without so much as a kiss on her lips.

"Oliver, you can't ju-" she tried to make him see sense, tried to find the comfort she needed.

Red was the only thing he saw. The anger. How could Lex do this to her? He thought he could hold on until she woke up, and then, she'd be back to herself, she'd be strong willed, she'd be his perfect princess. She'd step out of the shower, smile on her face, happy to be free, happy to have been freed.

But Lex had done more than just drug her, he'd killed her spirit… he'd made her ashamed of herself. He thought he could wait… but seeing her, touching her… how could he even think of kissing her while her torturer lived? "Oliver." His mind spun and stopped on a very odd detail, here he was pulling on a spare Green Arrow jacket and hood from under the bottom bunk and she wasn't even saying a word about it. How long had she known?!

He shook his head minutely, right now, he had more important problems. Tonight would be the last time she ever cried. Tonight would be the last night Lex lived. "Oliver…" This he heard with perfect clarity, her broken whisper of panic, the need. He turned fast back to her, had something else happened?

It took all of her pride, but she forced out the needy words. "Stay with me… please." _'I need you'._

"He needs to pay. Now." His tunnel vision was forcing out everything else important in his life, even her desperate plea. Even the fresh tear that dropped from the harsh cut of his words.

"Oliv-" She stopped her lips, watching him hike the crossbow onto his wounded back. She could start to list all the reasons he shouldn't go, she could worry about the damage he could do to himself, the risk of further injury. But, she knew he wouldn't listen. There was perhaps only one thing she could do to make him stay, and she did it instantly.

Her tiny fingers latched onto his arm as he tried to leave. He must have barely felt the small digits, but she moved herself in front of him, her other hand slipped between his stubble and leather hood. This time, he paused, ready to soothe her with as little words as needed before he took down the dragon imprisoning his princess.

There, in her eyes, he saw the twinkle of blue in her oceans. The woman that would slap him for saving her from thugs. His lips pulled into a smile from the memory, then, before he could catch himself, she pushed herself onto her tiptoes, threw herself into his arms and kissed him.

It was a kiss of legends, the kind that made the history books. But this kiss was private, it was the centre of his world, spinning shooting stars above his head. This kiss was love.

He dropped the bow, her place against him more valuable. All he could feel was her, all he could breathe was his damn shower gel cascading around her, all he was; was her.

"Chloe." he groaned, breaking away from the kiss and throwing his eyes back open. And there she was, the unbreakable woman, the fists of fury… the one who made his heart beat faster than any extreme sport. He worshipped her. The fire in her eyes flickered, playing with his emotions.

His lips came back to hers, his tongue slipping into her mouth, dancing and twirling with her own. It was peace, serenity, hope and just a dangerous edge of lust. She was in his arms, where she belonged, where he craved her to be. The dragon's lady was hungry for _his_ lips, desperate for _his_ attention. She was _**his**_.

Oliver lifted her from the floor, her frame lighter than he remembered, but her legs fitting just as well around his hips. His hands found the smooth skin of her back, the curve of her spine where she'd giggled when he'd kissed oh so long ago, the arch of her as his lips touched to the base of her neck. His. Chloe was his. She was here, with him.

As fast as he'd dressed, he stumbled back onto the bed, his hood thrown down, her tiny fingers tugging at the stiff zipper. She needed _him_.

His lips crashed back to hers, bruising her with the pressure. The overhead light cast her as his own personal angel and he couldn't agree more, not when she was there, with him, her lips desperate over his, tasting him like a drug she couldn't quit.

"I need you." he croaked around her lips. "I missed you." The words continued to spill, continuous declarations as he helped her with tackling clothing. "I thought I'd lost you." His hands roamed the contours of her bodice, the short she wore thrown to the floor. Eyes followed his fingers, the rage bubbling as he saw the damage she wore. "Never again." he breathed, holding her tight to him. "I promise."

Chloe let him say what he needed, her heart soaring, her pulse pounding and a heat finally flooding through her system. She crashed back against him, his lips against her cleavage, stirring her desire, summoning the heat she relished. Every inch of her skin tingled alive with sparks. He touched and she melted. He kissed and she moaned. He played her like an orchestra of love, every place she wanted him to be, he was. Skillful hands unclasped the bra, lavished her breasts and shed the jeans and panties, leaving her uncomfortably exposed under loving eyes. But then came his lips again, those beautiful lips, as talented as his hands, driving all of her worries to the back of her mind, heating the core of her being, chasing away the shadows and fears.

He took a hand from her, only for those seconds necessary to remove the leather bottoms, but as he tugged her back to him, their newly naked bodies colliding, he couldn't help but ask between kisses. "You know?"

"…What?" She wasn't paying attention to much more than the way his fingers smoothed down her bony skeleton, soothing her fears and tracing a circle on her hips, too far from where she wanted him.

"Arrow?"

"Yeah." she breathed, re-joining their lips quickly, barely remembering to keep her hands from his back as they naturally wanted to be.

"How long?"

"A while." she answered just as quickly as before, her hips rolling against his, her legs hooked around his hips, the arches of her feet resting on his muscular quads.

"Di-"

"Not important." she finished for him, a flash of a smile on her lips as she pressed them back to his. And it wasn't important. Not to her. Not any longer. He was here, he was with her, he was holding her like she was the most precious thing on the planet. How could she care for anything he did?

"Lex knew… he did this just for my identity…" Oliver started again, his mind spiralling from the place it needed to be.

"Please." A whispered plea never ever registered in his ears. "Oliver, please. Don't."

"It's my fault… all of this." His blonde hair tickled her shoulder, his head dropping in guilt.

"No, please. Stay with me, be here." Her hands tried to soothe him, to bring him back to her, to stroke against the blonde spikes and make him understand the truth. "Look at me, I'm here, I'm with you. Be here with me."

It took him a few seconds, but he blinked up to meet her eyes. Her eyes spoke volumes of comfort and love and he swallowed them whole. She was here, she was with him… she was his.

Chloe was with _him_.

Chloe found herself thrust back into the moment they had almost lost, his sole finger diving into her tight, wet, heat. She arched up against him, a gasp drawn from her parted lips.

"Chloe." he breathed in a short stroke, his lips crushed against her neck in the sensual way she loved, the way he'd threaten to mark her, yet never leave a scratch. His kisses peppered her skin, his second finger dove into her, speeding to summon the calls of her moans that stirred his darkest desires. She was here. She was with him. "Chloe… please."

Nothing more needed to be explained, she simply wrapped her fingers around his pulsing erection, positioned him to replace his fingers and met him with the first thrust. She didn't think she'd come apart so easily, but all too soon she was biting down on her lip, snapping her hands back onto the bedposts instead of his back and gripping until her knuckles went white. Perhaps the drugs had made her extra sensitive, perhaps the heat he'd seared her with had been more potent than expected, but she found herself at the top of a cresting orgasm before she could even find her rhythm.

"Oliver!" she gasped out his name, she couldn't hold it back. His eyes meet hers and there was that cocky grin she loved, the lopsided smirk that pressed to her lips. He was flaring that damn grin as his pressed him thumb to her clit and circled no more than twice, breaking her last barrier and throwing her into her bliss. He was watching her face, watching as her lips dropped open, her eyes squeezed shut and she clamped down around him, her legs locking over his back, her inner muscles begging for him to fall with her. He held, by some miracle, he didn't crumble and crash with him. But something else inside him cracked.

"I love you."

Chloe's eyes flew open, her orgasm flown from her body. Had he said…?

"I love you Chloe." Holy shit… "I should have fucking said it sooner, but I love you." Her heart was beating a mile a minute. This was it, it was the happily ever after she'd worked so hard to get. "I want it all with you." he continued, her equal response lingering on her tongue for the right moment. "I want marriage, I want kids, I want you by my side."

He'd stilled inside her, the adoration taking precedent. "I want you with me forever. Always with me." Chloe knew exactly how he meant the words, but it did nothing but panic her, slamming a cage door shut in her mind, sliding manacles around her sore wrists. Forever? Always with him? "Yeah?" His eyes met hers and she found herself numbly nodding, pressing her lips to his silently.

His hips slammed into her and she broke the kiss for another gasp. It may have just been poor choice of words, but her moment was lost entirely as he paired his thrusts with his next words. "You and me Chloe." he started again. "I'm _never_ letting you go again." The darkness in her heart threw her back into a gilded cell she'd only just left. Trapped? "You're mine." The possessive claim left his lips seconds before he arched into her, finding his own release.

His head came against hers, his lips pressed to her neck softly. "I love you."

Chloe swallowed hard against her fears but she couldn't push them down. Not when her heart was pounding inside her throat, not when her nerves were all on end, ready to run.

She wasn't even free of Lex and she already had another claim laid against her. Her chest ached, her body ran cold all over again and she suddenly found herself wanting as far from Oliver as she could get.

He was meant to save her, not enslave her all over again.

What the hell was he keeping her locked up for anyway?! Would he again? Would she be locked up the second she fought against him? Was she nothing but property exchanged to satisfy a man's curiosity.

Her mind fought it, but it always came back to the same conclusion; she wasn't free. She was locked to a man, but force or love… where was Chloe?

"Chloe?"

Chloe build herself up instantly, but even she couldn't have predicted the tears that slid down her cheeks, the tears that were the first thing he saw. "Woah, what's wrong?" He held himself above her, a thumb stroking clean her cheeks. "I… you don't have to say it back. I just wanted you to… know…" He was nervous; had he spoke too soon and ruined everything? "Chloe?" Her eyes turned from him, she couldn't bare to look into those beautiful eyes and see a captor rather than a prince.

"I need to go." she whispered, she couldn't stay here, waiting for him to give her an order, waiting for his claim to bind her hands again.

"Go? Go where?" His panic rose as fast as hers had. "You only just got out of that hell!" His upset at the thought of her leaving did nothing to help her stay, she saw controlling in his fear of losing her. She saw crushing power in the heartache of his love.

"I need to sort some things out. I have to go." But her weak struggles met no success as he pushed her back onto the bed, forcing her watery eyes back to his.

"What things? Where?" What had he done wrong? "Please, Chloe… stay with me."

"Let me up Ollie, please." The please broke through and he sat back, worried and curious.

"Chloe…?" Even as she started dressing in the clothes she felt the cold creep up on her, the fear and panic swallow her whole and the boiling eyes never giving her an inch of freedom. "Your scars…" he noted quietly.

"Lex." Was her sole explanation and she tugged on the t-shirt next, the jeans following quickly.

"Chloe. Talk to me, tell me what's going on." His fingers manacled her wrist, halting her. Chloe was already fleeing though, her mind had raced out with logic and she saw panic. He was already making demands from her.

Fresh tears rolled like searing acid down her cheeks. "Chloe!" he demanded, pulling her back to him, the covers of the bed the only scrap over his nakedness as he yanked her down to his lap. "Tell me. Now!" more demands. "Is this because of what I said? Look, you don't have to run, it's ju-"

"No." she quickly answered.

"God damn it! I'm not asking you to sign your life away, I just… it's…" Oliver stumbled over his words. What was he to say? It was heat of the moment and all his feelings finally pushed past his trust issues and overspilled out of his mouth. He didn't regret them at the time, not when she looked back at him with a mirrored expression. But now, he was wondering if he'd ruined everything. Or was she just as scared by the words as he had been?

"Yes you are!" she snapped, her strength still broken from earlier, not giving her a chance to think. "I'm not your property! I refuse!" she cried and tugged herself free. The surprise at her words let her free, his fingers numbly grasping air.

"What?!" he muttered. "Look, it doesn't have to happen now… we can talk, we c-" but his rationalisation for his lost words of their future were cut down.

"No!" She tugged open the door, setting herself out towards the elevator. He was hot on her heels, yanking up the leather pants as he chased her down.

"Then what do you want?" he shouted to her, easily trapping her against a wall as he pulled her to a stop. Their audience fled instantly, leaving them once again alone.

What did she want?

She wanted him, she truly did. He looked at her with everything she ever wanted from life. But… his words… she wanted her freedom more. She wanted to answer to no-one, she wanted to run wherever she liked, do whatever she cared for, talk to anyone she desired without constant policing. She wanted to leave at the drop of a hat, tell no-one and not need to. She wanted to live the years she was denied!

Oliver…

Her eyes lifted to his solemnly. He couldn't let her do that.

"I want to be free." she whispered, her eyes stuck to his.

"You are!" he fought, but even now he could tell it was a losing battle.

"No. I'm not." Her voice was calm, resigned… pained.

"Lex will be found, he'll be arrested. You'll be free." he argued, unable to see her leave him like this.

The truth slipped before she could stop it.

"Free from you." He stopped. It felt like his entire body stopped. His arms held against the wall, caged her still, but froze, the hurt shattering down him. She hurried to fix things. "I don't want to belong to you… please…" she implored him to understand, to let her go, to wait. But the longer he stayed quiet, the less it looked like a possibility. "Oliver…"

"Don't walk away from us Chloe." he finally spoke, a plea that barely made sound, she'd cut him as deep as he'd cut her. "Whatever you need, I'll give you. Space, money, travel… anything. But don't leave me like this."

"I have to." she answered.

"Then come back." He knew he'd get no better offer. "A week, a month… a year. But come back…" He hurt to speak the request, but without her… how could he go on? If she needed space, he'd give her that. But she had to come back.

Her cold fingers touched to his cheek. She closed to him and pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss. Just a second, barely giving him a touch. He opened his eyes to her ducking his arm, stepping closer to the elevator, her finger tapping the call button. "Stay for today?" he pleaded, clinging to any last hope. "Just give me today…" he felt the moisture grow in his eyes as she stayed where she was, as she looked back at him, resigned to walking away. The doors opened. "Chloe… please…" She stepped away though. Further from him, away into the elevator. He could force her, drag her back, lock her up until she changed her mind! His mind snapped into action but stopped short again, her pale pink lips speaking words he'd begged for.

"I'll come back." she whispered and the elevator closed around her, leaving him numb, a tear sliding down his face.

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><p>Back in the bedroom -as Oliver slammed his fist into the wall beside the elevator- between the forgotten hooded leather and weapon array, the empty vial of RL-65 rolled from the end table to the plush floors, silently dropping. Its juice: shot into Oliver Queen the instant he woke, too pained to stand. Too desperate to admit his injury, too needy to hold his woman like he had before… too involved to trust anyone else to keep her safe, too impulsive to consider the consequences.<p>

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><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

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><p>I know you may have been expecting a bit more of an explosion at the revelation of Chloe knowing about their identities, but it wouldn't work with what I wanted to occur, so it was smothered over. Apologies if you wanted more of a blow out.<p>

I'm so sad to see this fanfiction go out of my hands, but... It does make room for others I suppose.  
>As always feel free to chose to review or not, I don't mind.<p>

I guess i'll see you on the 24th when this all ends. Much love, you've all been simply fantastic :D I will miss you dearly.  
>Xx<p> 


	46. All Good Things

Oh you guys. I'm so emotional right now. Your support has been mind-blowingly amazing. All your kind words have made this possible, and now, as I take my last look at the final chapter I feel tearful.

I can't believe how amazing you all have been. Thank you, a million thank yous to everyone who read and reviewed this. I can't believe it got this long either... and you guys have stayed with me. Oh, I need a group hug before I start crying on my laptop frying the system and crashing all my work. Thank you, with all my heart, thank you.

I tried to tie up all loose ends from previous chapters, if something is left open, please don't hate me too much. This chapter is long. 16 pages in word. It's a bit clunky at a few stages, and trust me, I've been fighting all night to post this now rather than spend another year fiddling with the last chapter like I'd otherwise end up doing.

Oh, I'm emotional again. I'm such a sap. haha.

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><p><strong>Previously;<strong> Chloe woke up in Watchtower. Oliver woke up a short while after and then I threw you some tension, some love and some mixed feelings. I left with Oliver high on RL-65 and Chloe running from his claims of love that were a bit too much for her vulnerable caged mind.

**Now;** The final chapter, all rolled into one.

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><p><span>Chapter Forty-Six; All Good Things.<span>

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><p>'<em>The devil is in the details. If you don't pay attention to the details, he will win.<em>' - Lionel Luthor (Season Three, Episode Forsaken).

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><p>A blue moon sang in the night's sky, perfect white clouds danced with grey and took centre stage in her world. She followed her mind, blocking out the ache in her heart. The first car she came across she took for her own, driving straight into the slums of Metropolis.<p>

All along there had been one man who'd begged and pleaded for her to run. Away from Lex, away from the Luthor name, away from their reach. Finally, she could tell him she was leaving. Heading to a town where nobody knew her name, nobody had even heard of the Luthors and nobody stuck their noses into her past. No one who tried to cage her; she'd be free. Alfie would give her than damn, grumpy-git grin of his and tell her she should have done it years ago… and she'd have to agree.

Chloe managed a smile to herself, but as quickly as it came it vanished. Sirens sounded all around the slums, blue and red lights flashing against the night. Chloe kept driving, taking herself a longer way around and through more dangerous parts of the town. Alfie would know what happened. It seemed big though.

But as Chloe walked on edge through the back streets of the back end of the city she didn't once come across trouble. In fact she met mournful eyes that quickly turned their gaze away. Something big had definitely happened. But it was the next pair of eyes that had her assuming the worst, the eyes that spotted her and were instantly consumed with sadness. Her careful walk turned to a fast walk, and then she gave in to the worry in her mind, sprinting towards the house she'd once called home.

Yellow police tape over the door stopped her in her tracks, shattering her frozen bones and pulling at her tear ducts. No… it couldn't be!

She pushed forward only to spot the tell-tale bloodstain on the porch. A sickness overcame her and she crashed herself to the wall, the horror trying to throw itself from her system, but the lack of food or water left her dry heaving as tears ran down her cheeks.

"He's in a happier place." Chloe whirled, ready to fight off whoever interrupted her. But the words belonged to Alfie's long term neighbour, an old widow with too many grandkids to count. But here she stood alone, the same grieving eyes as the others.

Chloe wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Who?" Chloe asked, but she knew the answer. Lex. Lex had done this. He'd always said he'd make sure she had no-one to run to, and Alfie was the last tie. She'd gotten him killed.

"Oh don't child." The motherly voice started but Chloe didn't obey. It was her fault. "Look, someone came by afterwards…" she began and Chloe once again returned her attention, this time seeing a large brown envelope in her hands and a shy golden lab poking it's head from her front door. At least the dog would be given a good home. "Insisted Chloe Sullivan gets this." She pushed out the package towards her. "Said he was instructed to deliver it to the address, said he wouldn't leave until it was delivered." She shuffled nervously when Chloe didn't instantly accept it. "Figured it was for you… don't know any other Chloe's."

"What is it?" she asked, hesitant.

"Don't know child, but the man who dropped it off had an expensive suit. He wasn't from around here. Persistent too." Granny Norris, the kids used to call her. She re-defined patronising mothering. But, she cared. Probably a little too much.

Chloe slowly stepped forward, weak on her legs, worried about the contents, but accepting of the package. "And don't be too sad Child. He'll be up there with his cigars complaining about the eggs." That was Alfie.

Both women suddenly turned towards voices in the neighbouring alley. "You better go before there are questions." Granny Norris advised and Chloe obeyed like a good child, instantly taking off down the back roads. Odd blood stains greeted her on her exit, but her stomach stayed where it was as she ran past. Blood wasn't a rarity for the slums. Blood in public however… that was different. Lex had crossed several lines, not just of the law. He'd be lucky if there was a single person in the slums _not_ out for his blood.

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><p>Oliver paced, locked in the cage Chloe had only just been released from. Apparently RL-65 didn't come with any tolerance building abilities. The instant the doors closed he'd felt the full effects, slamming into him like a truck. He wanted to hunt Lex down and kill the bastard in several different ways, that would all make the most macabre and sadistic serial killers flinch. He wasn't surprised when he was 'encouraged' into lock-up. He was angry, but more with himself. But, even as he paced he couldn't bring himself to regret his decision. He needed the shot to heal himself, he would have been utterly useless without it. But… the side effects… they needed work.<p>

When the pacing became too stationary he dropped to the floor, pressing himself from the ground repeatedly. Push-ups were hardly busying for the mind, but he had a hope that he could sweat the chemical from his body. And with that, he found his enthusiasm for the action, repeated again and again until his arms were too sore to hold him up and the numbers became too high to recall.

And then, all he had was his thoughts as he ran on the spot.

Maybe to other women his words wouldn't have been so possessive, but he should have thought, he should have known better, he should have… but, there he was again regretting the consequence of his words, but not the words themselves. In the same situation, if he was to go back in time… he'd still _want _to say them, he'd still want her, but maybe he'd have the tact to change his tone. Maybe he would have taken half the dose of the drug…

There were so many maybe's in his mind.

Maybe he should have stayed on the bed, injured and helpless and let her play doctor. No, he couldn't stand being pitied.

Maybe he should have held her here, refused to let her go. No, it wouldn't have aided anything.

He would do exactly the same…

The anger he felt at that flooded him a fresh and he dropped himself back down to more press-ups. The more pain his arms felt, the less pain his heart would feel.

She was coming back.

She'd be coming back.

It was his only light in the darkness.

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><p>Chloe sat in the stolen car, parked in a motel lot with the ominous envelope playing tricks on her mind, teasing her.<p>

It was document size and heavier than it looked. And… the handwriting was distinctly Luthor. Lionel Luthor judging by the slashing way he wrote the 'S' in Sullivan.

She pulled over the package to her knee, turning it over a few times before deciding it safe to open.

But what hid inside she could not have prepared herself for.

Lionel Luthor's last will and testament.

Chloe froze, tugging closer the jacket and staring at the paper. What was she doing with Lionel's will?!

More importantly, what was so important he'd had 18 judges witness it? At 3am?! Two days ago…

Jesus, whatever he had written must be damn important.

Curiosity called out to her and she turned the pages to the secret Luthor life.

But the more her eyes skimmed past, the more they resembled giant black saucers. Whatever meds they had Lionel on in his last days had messed with his mind. Lex was getting nothing. Not even a cent.

Where did it go?

Sole beneficiary; Chloe Anne Sullivan.

From the moment Lionel died she'd been given controlling interest in Luthorcorp. She owned several Luthor estates, including the prison Lex had called home for years. There were businesses flying left and right all now landing in her lap. Atop that (as if it wasn't enough) Lionel's billions were rolling into a bank account he'd set up in her name, the card enclosed…

He'd lost the plot. He'd gone crazier than his son.

Lionel had threatened her, blackmailed her, kidnapped her, abused and beaten her and now left her with all of his… well, everything…

He'd lost his mind…

Unbelieving of the document she kept turning pages until she found a second set of pages at the back. Ones she'd read several times over and nearly memorised paragraphs of.

Her contract.

Neatly written on the cover was something more precious than dollars or estates.

'_It hardly amends the transgressions of my past, but I could not die knowing my son would gain greater power from having you by his side. Miss Sullivan, you are free.'_

There, tucked at the back of her existing contract sat another one, one she'd never seen. A contract signed by her original 'owner' that over-rode everything in the previous. A contract he'd drafted the day after he'd claimed her, a contract that gave him the power to release her from the deal, regardless of who owned her, and… he'd signed it. Lionel had held her ace all along, he'd written himself a winning hand to top Lex whenever he wanted. He'd been primary owner and master of her freedom all this time. Rage mixed with indescribable pleasure in a torrent of tears, gasps and screams.

The eternal game of chess between father and son had finally finished. Lex had lost.

She was free.

Chloe hastily added her name to the papers and took her freedom with her as she left the state, driving as fast as she could to anywhere and everywhere. She'd wanted to be free, she'd wanted to see the world, and she was going to. She was finally free!

* * *

><p>The next weeks flew by in a flurry of green leather for Oliver, his time spent on rooftops rather than spreadsheets. He blamed himself, for a whole load of things. While he could tell the others he was using Arrow's saves as catharsis, in truth, he was saving people to pass the time as he hunted down Lex. Oliver had done wrongs in his life, but if Lex hadn't have been there, half of Oliver's wrong wouldn't have counted.<p>

Dinah shoved an Armani suit onto him when the business events needed Oliver Queen to be present, she pushed eggnog into his hand and insisted he fake a smile for the world, and he did. He did it very well. But the second she left, he was taking a crossbow from the shelf and battling the cold temperatures and sludge snow for some relief.

The others were busy their own life demands to constantly police Oliver; Dinah was busy with Bruce, AC was busy with his new girlfriend and Victor was immersed in charity work and helping Emil with his research wading. Bart… Bart was MIA. Considering Oliver had told him to F*** off, he was adding Bart atop the pile of guilt he had.

There came a letter to Watchtower on the fifth of the month. No return address, no personal details, just a list of names. A list Oliver was sure was from Chloe, entitled 'crooked cops'. Of course she would know who was on Luthor's payroll and she'd given him the golden bullet to clean up the city. He had, sending the list to the mayor and press, ensuring the search for Lex was unhindered.

As for Luthor, no-one had seen him since his father's death. There had been more shootings, but only assumptions could tie them to Lex. Dock workers, pilots… anyone who could have offered an escape or transportation had met bullets if Lex didn't like the way they answered.

Lex was firing on crossed wires, seeing no problem with his actions, hiding out and hunting for a woman that couldn't be found.

Oliver would know; he'd tried.

* * *

><p>It took just over two weeks for Lex's blazing trail to end. On December 14th he was surrounded by police at a private estate just outside of Star City. Photos of his arrest littered the covers of newpapers, video footage showed how he screamed curses at a women called Chloe. The media ate it all up, twisting story over story with fictional detail about the psychological scars Lex just couldn't stop picking at until he fell apart. Thousands of theories came out of the woodwork, from the bizarre to the confounding.<p>

But for Chloe, she sat before the tv, the French morning breeze streaming through the window, Bart to her left.

"You told them?" she questioned knowingly. There were only three people who knew Lex had that estate; Lex, Lionel and Chloe. Considering Lionel was dead, Lex wouldn't turn himself in, and Chloe had only told Bart… she had a feeling who had anonymously told the police of Lex's location.

"Com'on Chlo, you can hardly tell me it was wrong." he jested, but her face showed nothing of the happiness he was feeling. Lex was in custody with enough evidence to put him away for years, but she wasn't even cracking a smile. "Chlo, com'on… it's all over."

"No. it's not." she huffed and pushed from her feet. "My name is the newest, juiciest bone for the hungry press. What happens if they keep digging? What happens if someone listens to what Lex starts saying? What happens if he goes to trial and drags me down with him?!"

"But… you've got the contract… you're free from him… right?" Bart tested.

"That doesn't erase my past!" She ran her fingers hard through her hair, only angered more when she recalled the plaited knot stopping her from stroking the full length.

"… Chlo… no-one's going to listen to him…"

"All it takes is one reporter with a stick up their ass." She slammed herself down onto the bed. France was looking less and less safe the longer the news carried on. She needed to move, to _stay_ on the move…

"I thought you'd be happy… he'll be behind bars, he can't touch you." Bart whispered to her panicked form. "Not from here… and… it'll all blow over. But… he's away… right?" The support Bart wanted for his decision was quickly flying out of the window and into the chilly snow. His eyes watched as Chloe suddenly darted to her feet, tore the packed bag from under the bed and shoved back in what little supplies she'd dared to take out. "Chlo… where we going now?" He'd followed her to 4 different countries so far, worry had consumed him… Chloe would never admit it, but she needed company and he was a friend enough to give her what she needed regardless of what she would say at times about his pushy personality. Victor kept him updated about Oliver and it seemed neither of the love birds were happy fliers.

"Not we." she spoke, but the words lacked any venom, Chloe knew it wasn't Bart's fault. They would have found Lex eventually, this day was bound to come. "I need you to go back to Metropolis."

"Chlo-" But this wasn't an emotional Chloe he found himself confronted with, it was a carefully planned leader taking measures to ensure the best result.

"I need you to keep me updated, damage control if you have to." And the instructing tone suddenly softened as she met Bart's scared eyes. "I'll be fine." And she pulled him into a friendly hug. She had her plans on where to go, she'd keep moving, use the Luthor money to keep her afloat and wait until Lex met his sentence and the media had another bone to gnaw at.

"Chlo… I can't just leave you."

"You can and you will."

Bart couldn't help but see it as a punishment for his actions. Chloe had known where Lex had been hiding out since he disappeared and she'd said nothing. He'd taken the choice out of her hands and now he was sent away. But as time kept trotting along, as Lex's trial progressed, Bart was glad he was the one who could call her the second court adjourned for the fifth time, still undecided on the verdict.

"_Any news?" _she began, he could hear the nerves in her voice.

"Insanity!" Bart exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down as lawyers walked past him outside the court house.

"_What about it?"_

"Lex's lawyer is encouraging a plea of insanity." Chloe felt her heart thump in her chest. "Everything he says will be nothing but the ramblings of an insane man." But… no death penalty… But… Chloe was protected still. She could deal with this.

Bart heard a sigh of relief down the phone and smiled a huge grin to himself. It was over.

"_When?"_ she asked softly, the rush of oxygen making her light headed.

"The trial resumes tomorrow. I'm guessing it will take a few days to prove his insanity but as soon as the press gets it, your name will be clear." All investigation would drop and they'd be blurting out about his psyc scores and making assumptions about which insane asylum would be lucky enough to take the great Luthor. There would be questions about his wealth and estates, would the state take the all since there was no heirs? Bart's smile dropped… what would happen when they realised Lex had very little to his name and that Lionel's will had been given to another?

"_Let me know what happens." _Chloe breathed, probably thinking along the same lines. _"And thanks Bart."_

"You're coming home soon, ri-" but the line rang dead and Bart sighed to himself. Soon.

* * *

><p>By December 20th Lex Luthor was a resident of Belle Reve.<p>

By December 21st Lex Luthor was calling his lawyer from the infirmary, blood dripping down his arm.

While the enhanced inmates of Belle Reve tortured the body of Lex Luthor, the free meteor infected individuals tortured his spirit, burning effigies of him in the streets, condemning him to his promised seat in hell and cursing at his name. There were very few people who supported the Luthor name anymore. Even those loyal by financial persuasion were fading away.

Then there was Chloe, she sat biting her fingernails in Peru, not daring to be happy when the tables could turn so easily. She had too much fear of the Luthor men's capabilities to risk a smile at the news.

And Oliver? He turned his eyes to the door, his thoughts to Chloe. Would she be coming back now? But as the afternoon came and passed, his hope started fading, holding tight onto the words she spoken. She was coming back. She said so.

* * *

><p><span><strong>December 23rd<strong>

Two days until Christmas. Moira Sullivan had spent years under mental health care, then after an altercation or two, she was now in Belle Reve, but unlike her previous accommodation it was all too easy to forget Christmas was coming here. No decorations were hung, no carols playing in the corridors, there was no decorated tree in the family room. No family room really…

Unless you kept a calendar it would be all too easy to forget the month you were in, let alone the date.

Days revolved around tablets, eating, sleeping and the hours of supervised recreation spaced through the long hours. Today was different though. She'd been seething all night after the orderlies had walked past her cell gossiping about the inmates.

It wasn't un-natural that they gossiped, they had nothing better to do when it was quiet at nights and no-one was screaming murder from their cells. The night before it was about Lex's injuries from Gabriel Sunderland. Gabriel was far from the angel his name claimed, he'd raped and mutilated three teenage girls in a drug aided haze and somehow won his insanity plea. Moira barely felt sympathy for Lex.

But last night, the keepers of the keys had walked past discussing the insane 'ramblings' of Lex's drug addled mind. Their wonder focussed on a girl named Chloe Sullivan Lex had claimed to have owned. Moira had always presumed Chloe had been too ashamed to visit her mother, but the things they said, the words they repeated from Lex's mouth, it boiled her blood. The Luthors had abused her daughter. And this Luthor was working on being freed, and if she knew Lex, he'd probably be framing someone for his crimes as they spoke. He'd be out before the week ended. She couldn't let him return to her. And Moira had little to lose.

So today she'd protect her daughter, to make up for the years she'd failed.

Today, as she passed up recreation time for a 'headache', she sat alone in her cell with a prize from that morning.

There was a shared task of laundry, and for a few honoured people, you got good behaviour points for helping. Moira's aid that morning was to steal the exercise sweatband Gabriel used, and there it sat in her hands. Moira quietened her thoughts, focussing on the grubby object in her hands, and all too quickly she'd taken over the mind of Gabriel. Without much effort, she moved his body past the paint easels, slipping a paintbrush out of view and crossing the room to Lex's position in line for afternoon tablets.

She had very little to lose, and Gabriel's luck that had saved him from the death penalty was finally running out.

The thing about institutes and asylums, is that you can never make them deathproof. If someone wanted to kill someone, truly wanted it, it might be difficult, but it wouldn't be impossible to do. Moira tightened Gabriel's grip on the paintbrush, spinning it so the bristles brushed his palm, the wooden handle against his forearm. And then, queued behind Luthor, as the orderlies finally noticed, she pulled Lex back, an arm around his neck, jabbing the end of the brush into his midrift, aiming for the liver. She would have hit her target dead on, if the damn bastard hadn't had flipped her in defence, slamming Gabriel to the floor and shaking her from his body.

Moira blinked herself back to the room, instantly tightening her grip on the sweatband and pushing her spirit back into the bastard.

He was fighting, physically and mentally and she barely got a glimpse of the sight from his eyes before she was kicked back out, but it was enough to make her relax. The paintbrush was imbedded into Luthor, he was paling and crashed against the orderlies. She may not have hit her target, but Luthor was going down.

Moira didn't feel guilt, she didn't feel wrong. She felt like she'd finally been a mother to her daughter, the only way she could from inside this hell.

* * *

><p><strong><span>December 25th<span>**

Christmas, Oliver thought as he sighed. It was Christmas day and he had his hand stuck up a turkey, standing alone in his kitchen. A lot had happened in the past two days, but mostly, Oliver had just been miserable. Lex had been declared dead December 23rd… and here Oliver was, alone, still without Chloe's return. His hope was slowly turning into a noose for him to hang himself on.

He'd expected her back the same day Lex's body was cold. He'd closed his eyes and told himself he'd only have to wait a few more minutes before she rushed through his door and into his arms. But he kept greeting the world without any visitors.

Well, there was Dinah, dragging along Bart. In the spirit of family, success and Christmas, Dinah had proposed a home cooked Christmas meal for the gang. And who had she nominated to cook and host? Oliver.

Oliver had his suspicions she was just trying to keep him busy and thus his mind from realising how miserable he was. He agreed. And now, pushing stuffing into a dead bird's ass, he couldn't help but think of his sadness, the very thing this was meant to stop.

He'd so desperately wanted her to come barging through his doors in the past two days, he wanted her to be sat on his sofa when he woke up this morning smiling her perfect smile and wishing him a Merry Christmas. Did she even like Christmas? When was her last real Christmas?

No, he chastised himself, filling up the last of the bird and preparing it for the oven. He had a long day ahead, longer considering how long the bird needed to cook for. Preparing food gave him enough of a task to just barely think of her in the back of his mind, but she was always there. With nothing else to do but wait for the turkey to cook, he set himself a timer and went back to bed to embrace his gloomy persona with a film.

Oliver blinked himself awake, rubbing at his eyes and wondering just when he'd fallen asleep. The timer beside him told him the turkey still had another 20 minutes before it was ready. His eyes went back to the film, playing the title sequence over and over. It was probably what had woken him. He shoved himself up from the bed, running a hand through his blonde hair. He smelled like sweat and cooking from that morning.

Deciding his timing was well paced, he took a shower and was wrapping a towel around his hips with 10 minutes of cooking left. With a forced grin to the mirror image of himself, he set about forging a happiness he could play before his friends. The entire bathroom depressed him though, the ghost of his relationship (however brief) with Chloe haunting it.

He froze, hearing the familiar sound of his elevator. He rolled his eyes, it would probably be Dinah, ready to stomp controlling female all over his plans. He had no problem with it, she could take over if she wanted. Then again, she'd probably burn his turkey and let everyone blame it on him. With a grunt of exhaustion he yanked a pair of clean sweatpants from the dresser and shoved his legs into them. He needed to save his food.

But the further down he stepped, the less he was sure of Dinah's intrusion. There was no coffee maker or tv sounds. Maybe it was Lois arriving early. Oh god, that was worse. He took the steps two at a time prepared to shove the walking disaster out of his kitchen before her bad luck infected something. But something caught his eye and he came to a stop again.

There, in front of the elevator were two small luggage bags set neatly on the floor. That ruled out Lois. She could never pack into two bags.

Victor maybe? Had his landlord kicked him out? At least he'd have no problem letting Victor help him deal with the cooking. Oliver stepped curiously into his kitchen, following his approving nose. Empty…

"Hey." Oliver paused, his back to the soft sound. That wasn't Victor… or Lois, or Dinah. "You changed the code." It was sweet, friendly… but nervous. Slowly, ever so slowly, he turned. Instantly he was ready to pinch himself, he'd had the torture of dreaming of her a thousand times over, he didn't need a repeat, especially not when it felt so realistic. But his eyes found a different type of Chloe than his dreams remembered. "I… ummm, I cracked it… sorry." And she looked down, guilty, unknowing if she'd crossed a line. She_ had _left after all.

"Chloe?" he whispered. And then there was her smile, that beautiful smile he'd missed. "You cut your hair." It was the first thing his brain was registering, the first thing that slipped through his mental filter.

Chloe looked at the cut that bounced above her shoulders with a nervous laugh.

"I thought it would be time for a change… to start over." she justified.

There, in his apartment, buried beneath a knee length black coat she stood. Her long hair had been cut to her shoulders, black heeled boots were buckled to meet her coat and all he could think was to note on her hair.

"About before, what I sai-"

"It's okay." she interrupted, worried aboout the way he still hadn't moved. Neither of them had, an entire corridor width spread out between them.

"I didn't think, I ju-"

"No, it was me, I'm wo-"

"It's not your…" Oliver trailed off before they started cutting at each other's words. "We have a bit to talk about I guess." he began again and she nodded.

"You're busy." she highlighted, suddenly feeling out of place like the intruder she was.

"No." It was then his timer decided to go off for the bird. "Well, yes. But not… _busy_."

"I didn't know if you had plans, I'm sorry, I should have thought, it being Christmas an-"

"Stay." he blurted out as he saw her shift her weight ready to run again. "Please." She smiled, but it didn't touch her eyes half as much as he wanted. "Chloe…" She was here… she'd come back. He crossed the room, meeting her but too scared to touch her… what if it was a dream? An elaborate, highly detailed dream. He could see her slight blush, see the gold shimmer in her eyes like it only did when she was happy, smell the damn fruity lollipops on her breath.

He tested his theory of reality, extending a hand to her rosy cheeks. His warm touch radiated through her body thawing out her frozen heart. Everything came flooding back, from the very first time he touched her, to the very last. The way she'd felt in his arms, the way he'd kissed her, the love she'd split for his two halves. "Chloe." Her name drifted like a prayer from his lips, an awed breath slipping free.

Her heart felt so heavy in her chest, thumping solid beats just for him. The days alone had shown her that her dreams of freedom were nothing to crave. Being alone was only a luxury when you were trapped. But being with Oliver… it was beyond living, it was soaring through clouds. And the way he looked at her, like right now, with warm eyes penetrating right to her soul, it wasn't controlling, it wasn't demanding, it was a comfort she'd missed. His words may have scared her, but his actions proved her fear had no rightful place to stand between their love.

Chloe regretted it taking her this long to realise that.

The elevator suddenly started up and Oliver cursed under his breath. He couldn't catch a damn break.

"Don't go anywhere." he pleaded with his eyes. "It'll probably be Dinah, which… we need to talk about." They needed to talk about Dinah? "You do know _all_ the identities, right?" he checked, walking toward the elevator. Oh, right… about the big secrets.

"Yeah." she simply answered, following him to move her bags.

But what came through the door was not Dinah. It was something arguably worse, and coincidentally, in an argument at the time.

"No. I said Cranberry, who the hell has blueberry sauce? Who the hell even _makes_ blueberry sauce?!" Lois snapped across the line, her superman on the other end, braving the last minute shopping queues. "Ollie, you got the sprouts right?!" Lois's voice echoed down the halls as she stepped from the walled confines and into the apartment. Her eyes immediately landed on the sight before her and she went white as a sheet. Like she'd seen a ghost… or someone who'd been called a ghost half her life. "Chlo?" and Lois threw herself against the petite blonde, pulling her into a much needed and long awaited hug.

"Jesus Lois, give her a second would you?" But Lois's watery eyes snapped to Oliver, telling him she had harsh words for him. "She literally just stepped out of the elevator, I didn't have time to _find_ a phone." he explained, finding himself uncomfortable in the situation. With Chloe, he knew exactly who to be… but with Chloe _and_ Lois… he felt like he'd invaded an extremely private moment. At the sound of Chloe's sniffles as she hugged her cousin back, Oliver decided to attend to the food and give them time alone with each other.

* * *

><p>Lois only released Chloe when others started to pour through the doors, each wanting their share of the story of her life. Chloe felt like she'd been pushed in deep water, staying alive by sheer effort and those few seconds of a life raft Oliver kept handing her as he took a question himself, or would walk past, hand outstretched to her. He'd put a movie on when food was cooked, but Chloe still claimed all the attention. Like a shiny new toy, everyone wanted to know the ins and outs of her life. Tess and Emil sat off to one corner together listening in awe, while the others, the more loud-mouthed, fired question after question, wanting to know what it had been like, where she'd gone, what she'd done, how she'd lived.<p>

By the time the end credits rolled to an old Christmas movie nobody had paid attention to, she had barely touched the food on her plate from talking so much and the wine had helped take her feeling of drowning to a level of casual floating. The Justice League (as they called themselves) were as welcoming to her as they'd been to the re-fills to their wine glasses. Tess claimed her to chat Oliver and business, but they never made it past the topic of how Tess knew about Oliver's alter ego. With those minutes of Tess's dominant conversational tone, Chloe managed to get through a good half of her meal. Then, the attention came right back to her. Her plans for now, her reaction to the Luthors deaths, her predictions for the business world. Oliver tried to wrangle them back under control, but there was too much for his skills and Chloe navigated the waters with a skill he couldn't have predicted considering she'd been thrown blind into the middle of the largest gathering they'd had. Bruce sat next to Dinah sharing inside jokes and a whole load of sexual tension. Bart and Victor were playing on games with AC watching behind them.

For Oliver, it was just like a Sunday evening with the boys. But… bigger. And with Christmas presents.

He scanned over the group. Was this his new family now?

Clark and Lois bickering like an old married couple. Dinah and Bruce playing newlyweds choking on sexual chemistry. AC rambling about his first date success and Victor and Bart competing for the highest score like children. Then there was Tess and Emil acting like aunt and uncle, full of advice and complaints everyone listened to, but no-one cared about.

He smiled, his eyes finding Chloe. Where did that put her?

She sat avidly talking to Tess about something he couldn't hear, a smile on her lips.

He wanted her by his side. He wanted her in his pseudo family as much as possible, holding his hand like it was the only way they could survive.

Wife was a title Oliver had never enjoyed, but Chloe seemed to make the idea more and more possible. This was his family now.

He smiled to himself.

Time to bring the family in for some quality time.

"Alright. Enough interrogation. White Christmas is going on, and they'll be no seconds for anyone who talks during it." he announced with a chuckle, starting the film as everyone settled into a relaxed state on the sofas and chairs Lois had scattered around. Places changed and as he took the lounger he found himself with the company of a little blonde pixie. He grinned, pulling her down next to him and comfortably wrapping around her.

The movie began to silence and Oliver admired his family. Happiness swelled in the room. He'd woken presuming it would be one of his worst memories of the holiday, but no… it was easily the best.

Why?

That was all thanks to the blonde devil cuddled up next to him, the wine glass resting against her bottom lip as she watched the screen. His lips softly came down to the crest of her head where he could easily reach. Her eyes found him, questioning the motion, but all he gave was a smile. A true smile.

The film finished and Oliver had never been so thankful, having Chloe wriggling against him for an entire film had done nothing for his happiness. It was bad enough she'd chosen to wear a slinky black dress under her coat that day, but now, with her against him his mind was drifting back to the first time they'd watched a movie together… the first time she'd truly let him see all of her, scars and all. Needless to say, his mind was not on a white Christmas. Did she realise how alluring she was?

"Hate to say this, but we should probably get back." Clark voiced. "We promised my mom we'd make it in time for social hour."

"Yippee." Lois droned sarcastically, but stood up along with Clark.

"Yeah, now that you mention it… we have… _other_ things we need to do too." Dinah inputted, her eyes on Bruce, who was drowning in sexual tension.

Oliver rolled his eyes but laughed, extracting himself from Chloe's cuddle and bidding farewell to his guests.

It took another half hour for everyone to get in their goodbyes and well wishes, another 10 minutes for each to give Chloe a hug and 'quick' goodbye. Then, they were finally alone, standing by the elevator as they waved goodbye to Bart and Emil, the last two to leave.

Oliver turned slowly to her, eager to pick up where they left off, but Chloe was biting at her damn lip, doing nothing to aid his feelings. Not when she looked so damn sexy.

"Can we talk?" she voiced and he found himself nodding, following her out and onto his balcony. With so many bodies in the room, the doors had to be opened before they all roasted to death. Snow still covered the ground of Metropolis, but nothing fresh had fallen since the start of the day before. With the sun shining, the air outside was a refreshing cool rather than a freezing shiver of a temperature. Chloe stepped from the mess into the clean balcony, feeling her head clear from its alcohol haze.

Oliver's fingers linked with hers as he stepped behind her, holding her in a hug.

The days she'd spent alone, she'd craved his presence like this. Through dreams she'd thought of him holding her, kissing her, making her scream his name. He haunted her daylight mind like a bad hangover. But nothing of her thoughts was bad. Her mind painted him as perfection, even his stupid dating rules, the way he'd strived to make her feel as she did. She wanted Oliver. She wanted him to burst through the doors, to have hunted her down and demanded she return to his bed and embrace. And that was when the difference between Oliver and Lex clarified. Even in her darkest hours, starved and alone in a city she couldn't name, she'd never once wished for Lex's embrace. Her heart may have never wanted Lex, but her head knew she'd be dead without him. For Oliver though, it was the extreme opposite, her head warned her against his possessive nature and claim in his words, but her heart slammed that door and beat only with the wish she return to him. She guessed that was how she knew she loved him, how she could trust him, how she could have a future with him.

"With Lionel," she began, feeling more solidified in her answer after repeating so much of it with his friends. "And then with Lex. It was hard to say no. Especially since I knew the consequences. They'd push their commands and I'd have no choice but to follow." She took a deep breath steadying herself and she felt Oliver's arms tighten around her helping her take the first steps. "With Lex… I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was helping so I shut myself off to his methods, instead focussing on the end result."

"You did what you had to." he whispered over her shoulder. Her eyes remained on the building opposite.

"I thought you were my white knight, that you'd be the polar opposite of Lex." she admitted, knowing her words didn't come without a backhanded insult of the truth. He wasn't opposing Lex on all fronts. Like most men, he shared some traits with a monster. "The words… the way you spoke… it just hit me with all the memories of the time Luthors had said them."

"I wasn't thinking clearly." Oliver explained. "I didn't want you to see me in pain, weak. I took RL."

Chloe stood silent, she hadn't considered that option, but things were making sense as the information flooded into her memories. "I was angry at Lex for what he did. Angry at the idea of losing you." His hold tightened, fearing he would lose her again. "I wasn't thinking."

"But you meant the words." she added for him. "I just wasn't ready to hear them." Her honesty hurt him. He'd rushed her, he'd hurt her, the very thing he'd so desperately wanted to avoid doing.

"Where does that leave us?" he dared to ask.

"I don't know." she admitted. "We could try again. Slowly." Oliver released a held breath and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, her head easily angling for more. But he had his own promises to make first.

"Slow." he swore. "We can do slow."

"No more RL adventures?" she proposed with a smile, turning in his arms.

"No more RL. And no more Luthor, that's all over now." His fingers brushed back the newly styled hair from her eyes, but the lift to her lips he'd expected didn't happen, she looked across at him with an emotion he couldn't fathom.

"Not exactly… There's something else." And Chloe slipped free, leaving his embrace empty and walking out from the balcony and through to her bags. Her eyes found the mess in the room as she walked through, her peripheral hitting the kitchen covered with pots, she made a note to start tidying as Oliver digested the news she was about to land on him. She heard his footfalls follow her, pausing as she dug in the bag for the document wallet.

"What do you mean?" His voice was soft, caring.

"This." And she put the file into his hands, encouraging him to sit. He did, his eyes locked on the words he read.

"Lionel's will?" But Chloe let him answer his rhetoric as he turned the page. "Wow…" Chloe assumed his eyes had found the 18 signatures. She turned, addressing the scattered mess throughout the living room. Bottles, glasses, napkins, dirty plates… Oliver didn't do mess by halves. She first went to the glasses by the side of the furniture, lifting them into her hands like a skilled waitress would. The clink of glass to glass rose Oliver's eyes. "Don't, I'll get a cleaner in tomorrow." he chastised, hating to see her in a demeaning position.

"It's Boxing Day, I'm sure they'd prefer to be with their families. Besides… I need something to do while you… digest." she answered and ignored his second instruction to stop as she took the glasses into the kitchen and started running the warm water into a bowl.

She was back for the third load of kitchenware when his eyes lifted, as huge as the plates in her arms.

"Are you serious?!" he spluttered out, his eyes dashing between the words and her shy smile. "This is… this is a lot…"

"I know." she replied simply, no interested in the amazement he felt. Chloe wanted nothing to do with the Luthors. She wouldn't have used any of Lionel's blood money if she'd had any of her own. Chloe took herself back to the kitchen.

"What are you going to do with all of this?" She heard his voice carry from the living room.

"I don't want it." Oliver heard the disinterest in her voice and knew she was being honest. He took the papers with him to the kitchen, watching displeased as she continued to defy him and clean up.

"None of it?"

Chloe passed a glance over her shoulder, but returned back to the task.

"I guess I'll take the money… I don't have anything at all otherwise. But, everything else… I don't want anything to do with it." At his silence she took acceptance and turned back to him slightly, her hands still covered in soap suds. "I was hoping you could help."

"Help?" he questioned. "You've got half of Metropolis in this Will and you don't want any of it?" He was having a hard time believing. He understood her reasons, she didn't want the reminders, but… it was a big decision, a lot of money involved… a lot of businesses she was willing to drop from her hands.

"What would you do?" she asked instead of letting her anger take over like it wanted. Being with Oliver now was too important for a fight to separate them.

"Personally? I'd probably sell a few of the estates… nobody needs that many. Maybe convert the Luthor manor in Smallville into something else I'd want to keep." It was a good property, spacious and isolated. Would make a nice country club. "The businesses I'd visit independently, decided what I wanted to do with each after visiting. With the shares… I could probably redesign the Luthorcorp empire and meld it with my own."

"Then do it." She smiled. "I'll happily transfer the entire will over to you right now."

"Chloe… this is…"

"I don't want it." she repeated. "Any of it."

"You earned all of this though." he fought. "You spent years working for the Luthors… this is your payoff."

"No, it's a haunting I don't want or need." she snapped, then took a breath to calm herself again. It wasn't Oliver's fault. She wasn't going to get angry with Ollie over this. "Sorry… I just don't want it on my hands at all." she whispered across the room. "It's all yours." she finished, turning back to the washing up.

Oliver set the papers down on the side-table, away from the cranberry sauce splatter. Chloe felt his hands over shoulders and she instantly relaxed against them, feeling all her emotions push against her again. He smoothed down her arms and into the warm water, linking their fingers and lifting her hands from the water and over to the handtowel.

"They'll wait." he explained, drying her hands with care and guiding her away from the collective mess she'd organised. "If you want me to deal with this for you, I will. But I think you might want to see some of these businesses yourself. Not all of them are as crooked as the Luthors. And… maybe you want to make your mark, turn something Luthor tainted into a Sullivan beauty." He breathed a laugh against her neck and steered her to the nearest chair, gently sweeping her down on top of him as he sat. "Now, we still have a conversation to finish." he reminded her and she smiled, the sparkle touching her eyes. "You're staying?"

"In Metropolis? Yes." She adjusted herself into a comfier position, her legs slung over his, her arm around his shoulders.

"In this relationship?" he added and she nodded sweetly, if not shyly. "In my apartment?"

"I can find one in t-"

"Let me re-phrase; in my apartment." he repeated. "It wasn't a question." She pulled a face, took a few seconds, but nodded.

"Just until I find somewhere to live." Oliver didn't say anything to the contrary, but he'd ensure she didn't find anywhere else to live. "I can finally get a job." she whispered in awe, mainly to herself.

"Actually, I was hoping you'd take one I already had lined up for you." Oliver turned to her, his thumb tracing the line of her jaw, the fullness of her lips.

"Really? You already had a job lined up for me?" she joked, but his straight expression showed no joke or sexual innuendo. "What kind of job?"

"Personal assistant." he answered, "It seems I've recently acquired some new property and businesses which will keep me very busy." He grinned to her, that cocky know-it-all grin when he was thinking on his feet. "I'll need someone to keep schedule and make sure I make all my appointments." His fingers curled under her chin drawing her closer inch by aching inch. "Not to mention Green Arrow needs someone to run watchtower while the team is out. Be our eye in the sky… our guidance and operations manager." Victor would be most pleased by this, he'd finally get to play out of the computer labs.

"But, with Lex gone… surely you can hang up your tights." Her mock earned her a chuckle that vibrated through his chest and thus, due to proximity, hers too.

"They'll always be crime as long as there are people." he muttered sombrely. "We'll always have work."

"Then I'll always be there to guide you." She smiled, drawing her lips closer to him like she'd wanted to since they'd first seen each other. "Guide you to the bedroom perhaps." she whispered to him, her breath tickling his sensitive lips.

He rose an eyebrow, a chuckle slipping free in a breath.

"What happened to taking it slow?"

"I said slow, not snail's pace." She grinned and pressed her lips to his, straddling across his hips and deepening the kiss.

His lips parted and their passion flamed.

She was finally in his arms.

Finally.

* * *

><p><span><strong>2 Years Later;<strong>

"It's beautiful." she spoke, a whisper in the darkness. Oliver looked up from the papers littering his desk. "So quiet and peaceful." she continued, mainly to herself as she stood in his office staring out the large glass window, her hand on her flat stomach.

14 weeks the doctor told them.

14 weeks of a life had grown inside her so far and she was barely showing. It didn't stop her from stroking her stomach though. She said she found it soothing, like she was doing now. Oliver leant back on his chair, smiling to himself as she absently stroked down her top. Pregnant.

She'd fought him all the way but she'd even got his ring wrapped around her finger, even walked down the aisle to him. She still craved her own time now and again, but she always came right back to him. And now she was carrying his child. "The way you can see the lights." Her voice mesmerised him, the way she would get lost in his view of the city. "The way they touch to meet with the stars above. The little twinkles of yellow, gold and blue." And she turned to him, a twinkle in her own eyes, a smile on her lips. Before he could return it, the street lights and stars claimed her attention again. "I feel on top of the world!" she exclaimed with a grin, a breath of happiness flooding into the room.

The paperwork could wait. He was working through the business plans for the buildings that he'd claimed from Luthorcorp, working on the new offices he had designed and approved after a long battle. Under them sat the building plans for the changes to the Sullivan Mansion. The old Luthor mansion was renamed and converted into a home for meteor infected individuals to live and learn to control their powers. The repair bills were not as bad as expected, a few powered individuals able to mould stone and bricks were a great help, but neither of them could have predicted the spread of the news and the popularity. They needed more rooms to cope with the influx of occupants.

Oliver stood, crossing the room and wrapping his arms around his wife, his fingers twisting with hers over her belly. He'd had that view for years on end, but never seen what she did. Not until she came along and injected her words into his mind. She was right, it was beautiful.

"It's amazing." she repeated on a feint murmur, relaxing into him. His lips brushed her neck.

"Tomorrow. You don't have to."

She laughed against him softly.

"Don't be silly. I'm barely doing anything." As predicted, some other Luthor enthusiast with views of supremacy and discrimination had taken up research and murder of meteor freaks. She had relieved Victor of his duties, letting him free to the field while she operated the base camp from watchtower. Oliver didn't quite understand pregnancy only disabled you when you couldn't reach the keyboard or steering wheel, he was over protective at the very least.

"I'd rather you just stay in bed, with your feet up."

"My feet up huh?" she grinned. "Up over your shoulders perhaps?" she teased. Marriage hadn't done anything to dull their fire, even pregnant he craved her nightly, and she hadn't the lack of desire to ever deny him.

"Your insatiable." he playfully cursed with a smile, dropping another light kiss to her neck.

"Don't be long." She turned in his arms, pressing her lips to his like she always did, just injecting that little hint of tease, the premeditation of what came next. It was her nightly kiss in his office, a kiss that summoned him to scrap his work and follow her up the stairs instantly. He felt his cock harden at the memory of the night before. She truly was insatiable.

She left his arms and he missed her the second she stepped away. She shot her bedroom eyes over her shoulder and like always; work was forgotten.

"Minx." he called, chasing her down and sweeping her into his arms, gently pressing her against the wall. "Say it." he implored, kisses down her neck.

"I love you." she answered his call, the same way she always did in his arms. His eyes snapped up, as wondered by the words as he was every time.

"I love you." he replied, the same life in the promise as there always was. His lips sealed over hers, taking her into his arms, rising her lust and starting the nightly routine.

* * *

><p><em>Who are you? A simple enough question. And for once, Chloe had an answer. She was the teasing minx driving her man crazy with lust; she was the doting housewife addicted to coffee; she was on the arm of a billionaire charming all his contacts; she was the watchtower keeping her boys safe while they protected her city; she was the timid teenager who finally blossomed into loving; she was the broken heart that finally found her repair.<em>

_Who was she?_

_She was a woman of 5ft 3inches, golden blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes and married with the name Chloe Queen._

* * *

><p><span><strong>The End<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-<strong>

* * *

><p>It's been a long ride, longer than even I expected, and you guys have been fantastic.<br>I'd love to hear your thoughts on the finished work, but most of all I'd love to say thank you.

Much love, I hope to see you again soon,  
>A.A.<br>Xx


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